NYC Tops 200 Monkeypox Cases, Vax Demand Crashes Appointment Site

NEW YORK CITY — So many New Yorkers tried to sign up Tuesday for a vaccine against monkeypox — which once again doubled in a week's span to surpass 200 cases — that the city's appointment site crashed, officials said.

The Health Department's monkeypox vaccination appointment site went down about 30 minutes after going live at 1 p.m. Tuesday as New Yorkers rushed to claim one of 1,250 appointments, city officials said.

"We are aware of this issue and working to restore it quickly," the city's health department tweeted.

Andy Cohen, the television host, summed up many New Yorkers' feelings.

"This is not working on any level," he tweeted Tuesday.

More information about monkeypox vaccinations, including where to book, can be found here.

The city has seen 223 monkeypox cases so far out of 238 statewide, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

There were 111 cases a week ago, officials said.

Many at-risk New Yorkers are frustrated with the vaccine's slow rollout, which has been plagued by persistent technical difficulties and low supply.

One man ― an adult performer who goes by DamagedBttm — told Patch last week that appointments for doses went so fast that he hasn't stood a chance to get one. He wondered whether the limited supply is because the virus is primarily — for now — spreading among gay and bisexual men.

"Why did we wait so long?" he said.

Both Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have been pressing for "more supply" from the federal government as the city grapples with being the center of a burgeoning monkeypox outbreak.

Adams even wrote President Joe Biden this week that the 21,000 doses allocated, while welcome, simply aren't enough. He noted that vaccine appointments have booked within 10 minutes.

"We have more than 20% of the current US cases and yet have only received approximately 10% of the vaccine allocation in this first tranche," he wrote. "New York City is bearing the burden of monkeypox, and thus, we need a more adequate proportion of the tools that more heavily accounts for our current case burden, especially since testing remains relatively low nationwide."

Hochul said the city will receive 14,500 more doses by the week of this week.

“We're going to continue to press for more doses so we can continue to be on top of this,” she said.

Monkeypox has been primarily spreading among social networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. They're considered under greater risk of exposure, but officials stress that anyone can contract monkeypox.

The virus is most often spread through direct contact with a rash or sores of someone who is infected, but sex and other intimate activities can also spread it, health officials said.

Experts warn that even mild monkeypox illness can yield itchy and painful sores.