The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will open up another round of monkeypox vaccine appointments on August 13.
There will be 6,000 appointments slots available at 10 a.m. on the city’s vaccine website and via phone at 877-829-4692. An additional 3,000 shots will be distributed via referral to community-based organizations, healthcare facilities, and places with congregate settings, the city announced.
The batch includes 4,000 shots that were never used after folks previously scheduled appointments but did not show up.
The Health Department faced criticism during the early weeks of the monkeypox vaccine rollout process due to technical glitches that prevented many folks from being able to sign up for appointments. The City Council on August 11 introduced a legislative package that would require the Health Department to bolster its efforts to combat the monkeypox outbreak in the city.
Meanwhile, skyrocketing demand for the vaccine coincided with the federal government’s delayed distribution of doses. With high demand and limited supply, appointments have typically been reserved within minutes of becoming available.
As of August 12, there have been 2,130 cases of monkeypox across New York City, with the vast majority of the cases being among men who have sex with men. Most cases — 833 — are among people between the ages of 25 and 34, followed by 733 cases among those 35-44 years of age. By sexual orientation, only 77 known cases among straight people have emerged.
By gender, men lead the way with 1,938 cases, while trans/non-binary folks have registered 32 cases, women have tallied 11 cases, and there are eight cases among those whose gender is unknown.
Vaccine eligibility is currently limited to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary individuals who have had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days. People who have been told by the Health Department that they are a close contact are also eligible for the vaccine. Individuals must be 18 years old or older to receive a vaccine.
