Paul Chaplin, chief executive of Bavarian Nordic, which makes the vaccine, said on Thursday that research showed a single dose offered “robust protection”. However, Dr Bassett said full protection from the vaccine would come just two weeks after the second dose.
What you need to know about the monkeypox virus
Card 1 of 4
What is monkeypox? Monkeypox is a virus endemic to parts of Central and West Africa. It is similar to smallpox, but milder. It was discovered in 1958 after an outbreak in monkeys kept for research, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What are the symptoms? Monkeypox produces a rash that starts as flat red spots that become raised and filled with pus. Infected people may also have fever and body aches. Symptoms usually appear after six to 13 days, but may take up to three weeks after exposure to appear and may last two to four weeks. Health officials say smallpox vaccines and other treatments can be used to control an outbreak.
How contagious is it? The virus is spread mainly through bodily fluids, skin contact and respiratory droplets, although some experts suggest it can sometimes be airborne. It doesn’t usually lead to large outbreaks, although this year it spread in unusual ways and among populations that weren’t vulnerable in the past.
New York health officials said people who fall into one of several categories are eligible for the vaccine:
-
Persons with recent exposure to monkeypox in the past 14 days.
-
People at high risk of recent exposure to monkeypox, including members of the gay, bisexual, transgender and other communities of men who have sex with men and who have engaged in intimate contact or skin-to-skin contact with others in the past 14 days in areas , where monkeypox spreads.
-
Individuals who have had skin-to-skin contact with someone on a social network with monkeypox, including men who have sex with men and who meet partners through an online website, digital app, or social event, such as a bar or party.
In part because the categories are broad, demand for the vaccine is extremely high. All of the roughly 2,500 appointments were gone within minutes Wednesday, health officials said.
Huge frustration over access to the vaccine spread on Wednesday as people spent hours not knowing if they had missed a release or if more doses were coming.
Eugene Resnick, who works as a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said he spent nine hours refreshing the city’s webpage before finally being able to get an appointment when a second set was released just before 7 p.m.
“I am disappointed, angry and disappointed with the Department of Health,” he said. “I’m an insider working in the government. I can’t imagine it’s even accessible to the average person who isn’t on Twitter.
Joseph Osmondson, a microbiologist and queer activist helping to increase access to the vaccine, said the city did the right thing by opening a clinic in Harlem, in addition to the one in Chelsea, to distribute the vaccine, but that there should be more -an urgent effort to deliver more vaccines to the city soon.
“There is such frustration in the community at every level,” Mr Osmondson said. He said people he knows are trying to be careful but are increasingly angered by what they see as a lack of urgency to protect the gay community in particular: “We feel like we’re being left behind and then blamed for the spread “.
Add Comment