Just two days after New York State called monkey pox an “imminent threat,” New York followed suit on Saturday, declaring the disease a “public health emergency.”
The move was announced in a joint statement by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.
“New York City is currently the epicenter of the outbreak, and we estimate that approximately 150,000 New Yorkers may currently be at risk from exposure to monkeypox,” the statement said. “We will continue to work with our federal partners to secure more doses as they become available. This outbreak must be met with urgency, action and resources, both nationally and globally, and this statement of a public health emergency reflects the seriousness of the moment.”
The declaration will give Vasan and the health department the ability to issue emergency orders and “amend provisions of the Health Code to provide for measures to help slow the spread.”
As of Friday, New York state has recorded at least 1,383 confirmed cases of monkeypox. according to the state Department of Health. Of those, a staggering 1,289 cases are in New York City said the city’s health department.
At least 5,189 cases have been confirmed nationwide, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that New York City accounts for just under 25% of all cases in the US
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that the state was slated to receive an additional 110,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine. Of those, roughly 80,000 will go to New York City, and the remaining 30,000 to the rest of the state, Hochul said.
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