New York monkeypox cases double in a week
The number of probable monkeypox cases in New York City has doubled in one week; there are at least 119 people with the disease.
The number of probable monkeypox cases in New York City has doubled in a week, health officials said.
As of Tuesday, July 6, 119 people in the city have tested positive for orthopoxvirus and all likely have monkeypox, according to the city’s Health Department. That is more than the 55 cases from the previous week.
New York monkeypox cases double in a week
“Most of these people have had mild illness, have not been hospitalized, and have recovered on their own,” the Health Department said on its website. “Even with mild illness, monkeypox rashes and sores can be itchy and painful,” they write.
The current outbreak is among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, the Department of Health added on another of its online pages, but anyone can get and spread monkeypox.
Vaccination against monkeypox
The city’s public hospitals and the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic have been giving the monkeypox vaccine to people who have had contact with someone who has the disease or is at high risk for the disease.
But demand for the vaccine has been high, prompting New York City to request more injections. The federal government has approved the city for a new allocation of 6,000 doses, which is enough to vaccinate 3,000 people.
Vaccination involves receiving two doses of the Jynneos vaccine, which the FDA has approved to prevent “smallpox and monkeypox in adults 18 years of age and older who are determined to be at high risk,” the agency says. The doses are given four weeks apart.
“We expect to receive more doses of the monkeypox vaccine in the coming days and will make appointments available soon,” the city’s Health Department tweeted Tuesday.
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