Almost 30 cases of the rash-causing virus, which is usually just spotted in Africa, have been detected in The Big Apple thus far. Nearly all have been among men who have sex with men.
In an attempt to stem the increasing case tally, the New York City Health Department opened a clinic Thursday to roll out the two-dose Jynneous vaccine — which is 85 percent effective against infection — to control the outbreak.
It is being offered to men aged 18 and more than who have had many or anonymous sex partners over the last 14 days.
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Over 100 people queued up for the jab today at Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic, Manhattan, as it opened at 11 am. Within three hours the city was forced to suspend walk-in appointments because of demand.
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The clinic now has all its appointments booked until Monday, with health officials saying they hope to make more slots available "soon." Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, states the city has just been allocated 1,000 doses thus far.
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It comes two days ahead of Pride celebrations in the city, which are expected to draw crowds numbering over two million people.
New York City health officials are yet to declare any further guidance for the weekend, while areas further holding Pride celebrations including Chicago and San Francisco state they will distribute fliers and make "public service announcements" over the disease.
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Monkeypox vaccinations are being administered at the clinic between 11am and 7pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, officials say.
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They have not disclosed how they are determining whether patients have sex with men or have had many sexual partners, although this is probably being done through a questionnaire.
The Jynneous vaccine — which uses a weakened virus — sees patients getting two injections 28 days apart.
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It was designed to fight smallpox, though health officials explain it can further work against monkeypox because the two viruses are similar.
After running out of slots today, the Department announced: "We hope to make more appointments available soon."
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"We are in talks with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to obtain more doses and are looking into how we can boost our capacity citywide."
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New York is one of the first city's in America to begin rolling out monkeypox vaccines more widely.
The city — along with others including San Francisco — had already been offering the jabs to close contacts of confirmed monkeypox cases.
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