A limited supply of the monkeypox vaccine in New York City has stalled health officials’ rollout soon just hours after it opened to the public.
The city opened a Manhattan clinic late Thursday morning to offer the vaccine to eligible residents. The sudden announcement prompted a surge in demand, with appointments quickly being booked through Monday and walk-ins being turned away three hours after the clinic’s opening, according to WNBC, New York City’s local NBC affiliate.
WNBC reported that over 100 people were waiting outside the clinic when walk-ins could no longer be accommodated.
Manhattan borough president Mark Levine said that NYC was only allotted 1,000 doses of the vaccine.
“This is far, far too little. And now people are being turned away. We need the feds to dramatically up our allocation ASAP” Levine said in a tweet.
New York City has had 39 cases of the disease that largely affects sexually active gay and bisexual men. That’s the most cases out of anywhere in the nation, according to the Daily Mail.
The city is offering the vaccine to gay and bisexual men who’ve had multiple sexual partners within two weeks.
This weekend marks New York City’s official Pride month celebrations.
The clinic is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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