23K NYC Monkeypox Vaccine Appointments Open As Supply Fears Rise

NEW YORK CITY — A 23,000-dose batch of monkeypox vaccine is ready to go into at-risk New Yorkers' arms, health officials said.

Appointments for the doses go live online Thursday at 6 p.m. on the city's vaccine portal. The shots are part of a 32,000-dose shipment the city received this week as health leaders struggle to contain the virus.

Cases detected in New York City stood at 1,630 as of Thursday, but officials have said there are likely many more cases that have not yet been diagnosed. President Joe Biden's administration is expected to declare the virus a public health crisis Thursday, as well.

The doses come amid growing fears that supply could be inadequate to address the monkeypox crisis, where New York City accounts for roughly a quarter of all cases in the United States. Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday responded to a recent New York Times report outlining federal stumbles in obtaining monkeypox vaccines from overseas that could leave the nation short of shots until a 500,000-dose shipment in October.

"The production of vaccines and delivery to our country, that's beyond my scope as mayor and the other mayors of these cities across America," he said.

"There's a real supply issue. Until then, we have to educate, we have to make sure that we inform vulnerable populations how to protect themselves and how we protect each other."

The virus is, so far, largely spreading among men who have sex with men, although officials have stressed that anyone is at risk of contracting monkeypox. There are up to 150,000 New Yorkers who may be at-risk for monkeypox exposure based on the city's current vaccination eligibility criteria, health officials said.

The city's efforts to contain the virus have prompted criticism and outrage among many in the LGBTQIA+ community, who have been frustrated by early problems with vaccine supply and glitches on a website for booking doses.

The rocky vaccine rollout has largely smoothed in recent weeks as city officials started to receive more doses — although still not enough, according to many experts — and added vaccine clinics.

Five new vaccine clinics will more than double the city's capacity to dole out doses, health officials said. Those clinics are at:

• The Livonia (506 Livonia Avenue in Brooklyn)
• The Jefferson (1300 Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn)
• Long Island City (5-17 46th Road in Queens)
• NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings (686 New York Avenue in Brooklyn)
• NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur (227 Madison Street in Manhattan)

The additions bring the total number of monkeypox vaccine clinics in the city to 13. The Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic and the Central Harlem Sexual Health Clinic have appointments booked through the end of next week, and no new appointments will be added during this week's batch of bookings, officials said.

The city's monkeypox clinics are:

Health officials continued to update their advice on preventing the spread of monkeypox. They stressed that the best way to protect against the virus is to avoid sex and other intimate contact with multiple or anonymous partners.

The monkeypox virus in the current outbreak is, according to a health department release:

• Spreading mainly during oral, anal and vaginal sex and other intimate contact such as rimming, hugging, kissing, biting, cuddling and massage
• Can spread through direct contact with a rash or sores of someone who has the virus; from coming into contact with clothing, bedding, towels or other items they have used; and from prolonged face-to-face contact
• Spreads when people have symptoms, but experts are still studying whether it spreads before symptoms start or after they end
• May spread through semen, saliva, feces (poop) and other body fluids – experts are still studying whether this is possible.

The latest batch of monkeypox vaccine doses — which is, again, 32,000 shots — will have 9,000 set aside for close contacts of known cases, private health care providers and referrals from community organizations, officials said.

The monkeypox vaccine requires two doses, but health officials said that they're prioritizing first doses to protect as many people as possible as quickly as possible.

Appointments can be booked at vax4nyc.nyc.gov/monkeypox and by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).

More information about monkeypox in New York City can be found here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.