Home » News » NYC Launches New Monkeypox Vaccination Site With Over 8,000 Appointments Available

NYC Launches New Monkeypox Vaccination Site With Over 8,000 Appointments Available

What you should know

  • The United States is in the midst of the largest monkeypox outbreak in its history, and while there is a vaccine for this virus, the rollout in hard-hit New York City has been hampered by problems. technology and supply.
  • New York accounts for more than 25% of monkeypox cases in the US, according to the CDC; at this point, eligibility is limited to “gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men and transgender, gender nonconforming, or gender nonbinary persons age 18 and older who have had multiple or anonymous sexual partners in the past few years.” last 14 days.
  • Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. The lymph nodes may also swell. The incubation period is usually 7 to 14 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days.

NEW YORK – Maybe third time’s the charm? Hoping to avoid another tech blunder, New York City is set to make another 8,200 appointments for the monkeypox vaccine available starting at 6 p.m. Friday, as it expands across the city. places that will deliver the injections.

Appointments will be available through the city’s immunization portal. It’s not live yet, the city says, but hopefully, it will be in a few hours as planned. (Click here to open).

In addition to the existing monkeypox vaccination clinics located at the city’s Chelsea, Central Harlem and Corona Sexual Health Clinics, another clinic will open at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health on Vanderbilt Avenue in Staten Island.

And starting Sunday, there will also be three mass vaccination sites open for appointments at the following locations:

  • Aviation High School (45-30 36th Street in Queens)
  • Bushwick Education (440 Irving Avenue in Brooklyn)
  • Bronx Science High School (75 W 205th Street in the Bronx)

In addition to the 8,200 appointments at vaccination centers, the city said it would make another 4,000 vaccines available through referrals from “partner community organizations that serve higher-risk patients.”

It’s a two-dose vaccination process like many others, though the vaccine supply issue may mean some New Yorkers may have to wait another week or two for the next layers of protection against monkeypox. The City Council has now formally asked the Biden Administration to delay those second doses, precisely so that it can get more first doses on weapons while supplies are limited.

Getting a first dose has been difficult, with only a few thousand appointments opening in the past few weeks. And the portal used to make the appointments hasn’t been working exactly as officials had hoped.

On Tuesday, appointments sold out almost immediately after a wave of bugs left many people unable to access the booking website. The city’s Health Department said the scheduling site stopped working “due to high traffic,” a problem many hope will be fixed in time for Friday’s launch.

That mishap followed what the city said was an “unfortunate glitch” the week before. A bug on July 6 opened the appointment window prematurely, prompting an avalanche of confusion and a series of apologies from city health officials as they worked to correct the problem.

All 2,500 inadvertently released citations were collected extremely quickly, within 10 minutes. The city said the failure was the result of an outside vendor, not the department itself. The department later said it would honor all wrongly booked appointments that same day.

The latest push to maximize vaccine distribution comes as cases double in New York City virtually every five days. The city accounts for more than a quarter of all US infections, according to CDC data, and more than 2% of all current infections worldwide. On Thursday, the city reported a total of 389 infections, up 16% in one day.

It rose again on Friday to 461, a daily increase of 19%. And more than 95% of cases as of July 13 were men.

Mayor Eric Adams, calling the city the “epicenter of the monkeypox epidemic,” said earlier this week that he had asked the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure more vaccine distribution.

At this time, eligibility in New York City is limited to “gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men and transgender, gender non-conforming, or gender non-binary persons age 18 or older who have had multiple or anonymous sexual partners in the past 14 days,” according to guidelines released by the health department. Learn more here.

While monkeypox is highly contagious and generally confined to the African continent, health officials say the risk to the general US public is low. They say this is not COVID again because there are already vaccines to treat orthopoxvirus, the family of viruses to which monkeypox and diseases like smallpox and chickenpox belong.

The city is also rolling out more active messaging, saying people can now receive text alerts about the virus and new open appointments by texting MONKEYPOX to 692692, or MONKEYPOXESP for alerts in Spanish.

IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS

There is no specific approved treatment for monkeypox. Most people get better on their own without treatment. However, antivirals developed for use in smallpox patients may be of benefit.

If you start experiencing symptoms, talk to your health care provider. If you don’t have a health care provider, call 311. A provider will review your symptoms and may order tests.

A person is contagious until all sores have healed and a new layer of skin has formed, which can take two to four weeks.

To protect others while you are sick:

  • Avoid having sex or being intimate with anyone until you have been seen by a provider.
  • Stay home and separate from other people in your home.
  • If you can’t completely separate yourself from others in your home, wear a face mask and avoid physical contact. Wear clothing that covers your injuries when you are in shared spaces.
  • If you must leave home for essential needs or medical care, cover your rashes and injuries with clothing and wear a mask.
  • Do not share or allow others to touch your clothes, towels, bedding, or utensils. Don’t share a bed.
  • Do not share dishes, food, drink or utensils. Wash dishes in warm, soapy water or in a dishwasher.
  • Wash your hands and clean shared surfaces, like countertops and doorknobs, often. Household members should also wash their hands frequently, especially if they touch materials or surfaces that may have come into contact with injuries.

¿QUIT IS IS IT MONKEYPOX?

Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958, when outbreaks occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, giving rise to its name. (What you need to know about monkeypox).

The first human case was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which still has the majority of infections. Other African countries where it has been found: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Human symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but milder than smallpox symptoms, the CDC says. It presents as a flu-like illness accompanied by swollen lymph nodes and a rash on the face and body.

Monkeypox begins with a fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. Monkeypox also causes the lymph nodes to swell, something that smallpox does not. The incubation period is usually 7 to 14 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days.

Cases reported outside of Africa have generally been linked to international travel or animals that have been imported.

HOW DO YOU GET MONKEYPOX?

The CDC urges healthcare providers in the US to be vigilant for patients who have monkeypox-like rashes, regardless of whether they have traveled or are at specific risk for monkeypox. See more information about the travel advisory here.

The CDC issued new guidance on monkeypox as the number of suspected cases rose across the country, marking the largest monkeypox outbreak in U.S. history, which has generally been confined to other continents.

While the CDC says the risk to the general public remains low, people are urged to avoid close contact with sick people, including those with skin or genital lesions, as well as sick or dead animals. Anyone showing symptoms, such as unexplained rashes or lesions, should contact their health care provider for guidance.

It is also advisable to avoid the consumption of meat that comes from wild game or the use of products (such as creams, powders or lotions) that come from wild animals in Africa.

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