Democrat officials from both the east and the west condemned the Biden administration for failing to provide enough vaccines to prevent the spread of monkeypox. Officials in San Francisco are concerned about an increase in cases, while New York City officials have reported an increase in cases.
California State Senator Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco), issued a statement Wednesday warning that local health officials would run out of monkeypox vaccine in the latter part of the week.
Senator Wiener stated in writing that “Today, San Francisco Department of Public Health announced the Department is about run out of monkeypox vaccination.” “Its San Francisco General Hospital monkeypox vaccination clinic will be temporarily suspended following today’s (Wednesday).
Senator Sullivan stated that the supply of vaccines is running out as San Francisco and other cities see an increase in monkeypox cases and exposures.
According to Breitbart News, officials in New York City report that the monkeypox virus spreads rapidly at the other end. New York City is home to 30 percent of all cases. 170 cases were reported in New York City in the first two weeks July.
NYC Health published a chart that breaks down the demographics for monkeypox patients in the city. The report says that 321 (95.5%) of 336 cases were reported by men as of July 13. According to the report, no woman contracted the virus in the reporting period. The remaining cases were attributed to TGNCNB (7 cases), and Unknown (8).
Officials have attributed 60% of the cases (201) as being from the LGBQ+ population. Another 40% were classified as unknown.
Bill de Blasio, a former New York City mayor (D), urged the Biden administration increase access to monkeypox vaccinations. The former mayor of New York tweeted, “We can’t wait any longer to take actions against the spread monkeypox.” To meet the U.S. vaccine needs, invoke the Defense Production Act. In a crisis such as this, there’s no time to waste and there are many things that federal and local officials can do now to manage the crisis.
Mayor Mark D. Levine of Manhattan tweeted, “It was another day meltdown in NYC’s monkeypox vaccination [sic] effort caused by severe shortage of supply and failed scheduling technology.” He claimed that the city receives only 10% of the vaccine doses, while the nation is getting 30%.
The Hill reported that De Blasio was an unannounced candidate for the state’s 10th Congressional District. He asked the Biden administration “to invoke the Defense Production Act to fulfill the need for vaccinations.” The former mayor stated that there is no time for waste in a crisis such as this and that there are so many things federal and city officials can do now to control the crisis.
