New York City to open more Monkeypox vaccine appointments
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The New York City Health Department will make 8,200 monkeypox vaccine appointments available starting Friday.
Appointments will open at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, July 15. Appointments are required for the vaccine.
Soaring demand for the monkeypox vaccine caused the appointment system to crash on Wednesday. New York City is one of many places where supplies have been running out almost as soon as they arrive.
Health officials acknowledged the frustration over the limited supply of the vaccine and vowed to build a "stable appointment infrastructure" as the vaccine supply increases.
In addition to the existing monkeypox vaccine clinics located at the Department's Chelsea, Central Harlem, and Corona Sexual Health Clinic sites, the city said a new clinic will open at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt site (165 Vanderbilt Avenue on Staten Island).
On Sunday, 3 mass vaccinations sites will open for appointments at:
These three mass vaccination sites will be open for appointments only on Sunday, July 17.
Beginning 6pm on Friday, July 15, 8,200 first dose appointments will be made to the eligible public through the city's vaccine portal, vax4nyc.nyc.gov/monkeypox.
Four thousand additional doses will be made available through referrals from community partner organizations serving the highest-risk patients, the city said.
Cases are increasing in NYC. As of July 14, 389 people in New York City have tested positive for orthopoxvirus. All cases are likely monkeypox. There are likely more cases that have not been diagnosed.
More than two weeks after contracting monkeypox, 26-year-old, Kyle Planck from Queens has about 30 blisters and spots all over his body.
Most patients experience only fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. People with more serious illnesses may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
"Going from having a really high fever and all of that directly into having really intense pain was pretty terrible," Planck said.
Planck is a Ph.D. student specializing in infectious diseases.
"I have not actually found anyone who had monkeypox before me and who could have given it to me. So it's definitely an open question," Planck said.
Anyone can get monkeypox, but it's primarily spreading locally from close contact in the LGBTQ+ community.
With a limited amount of vaccines, so many people lined up outside a clinic in Chelsea that they had to turn people away.
While in quarantine, Planck used his quarantine to write a letter to lawmakers.
Planck is asking for more access to not just vaccines, but the anti-viral treatment he received after getting diagnosed.
"After being on the medication for only about two days, I already started to see really dramatic improvement of my symptoms," Planck said.
Planck hopes to share his personal experience, and make a difference.
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