Officials in New York City have declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the monkeypox virus, calling the city “the epicentre” of the outbreak. The announcement Saturday by Mayor Eric Adams and health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said as many as 1,50,000 city residents could be at risk of infection. The declaration will allow officials to issue emergency orders under the city health code and amend code provisions to implement measures to help slow the spread.
In the last two days, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency declaration and the state health department called monkeypox an “imminent threat to public health.”
“We will continue to work with our federal partners to secure more doses as soon as they become available,” Adams and Vasan said in the statement. “This outbreak must be met with urgency, action, and resources, both nationally and globally, and this declaration of a public health emergency reflects the seriousness of the moment.”
Box item:
NYC’s next round of monkeypox vaccine appointments go online
The next round of monkeypox vaccine appointments in New York City went online Thursday, the health department said.
City health officials say 23,000 first-dose appointments will be made available on the city’s vaccine portal starting Thursday at 6 p.m.
Vaccine clinics will be open at the following locations:
The Bronx
-
Bronx High School of Science, 75 W. 205th St. (weekends only)
-
NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, 234 East 149th St.
Brooklyn
-
Science Skills Center High School, 49 Flatbush Ave. Ext. (weekends only)
-
The Livonia Clinic, 506 Livonia Ave.
-
The Jefferson Clinic, 1300 Flushing Ave.
-
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, 686 New York Ave., T Building entrance at Clarkson Ave.
Manhattan
-
Chelsea Clinic, 303 Ninth Ave.
-
Central Harlem Clinic, 2238 Fifth Ave.
-
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur, 227 Madison St.
Queens
-
IS 125, 46-02 47 Ave. (weekends only)
-
Corona Clinic, 34-33 Junction Blvd.
-
Long Island City Clinic, 5-17 46th Rd.
Staten Island
-
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt, 165 Vanderbilt Ave.
A clinic will also open in Times Square in the coming weeks.
