New York state’s health commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, has officially ruled monkeypox as an “imminent threat to public health” as cases related to the virus are rapidly increasing. The CDC has already confirmed that more than 4,600 cases have been reported in the U.S. alone, with 1,000 of those stemming from residents living in the Big Apple.
“This declaration means that local health departments engaged in response and prevention activities will be able to access additional State reimbursement, after other Federal and State funding sources are maximized, to protect all New Yorkers and ultimately limit the spread of monkeypox in our communities,” Dr. Bassett shared in a statement on Thursday.
Feeling anxious right now — New York bound where there are lots of monkeypox cases. I’m also hearing plenty of people on board the flight coughing, accompanied by sniffles 🥲🥲🥲
— Kevin (@KevinChills) July 29, 2022
Dr. Bruce Hirsch of Northwell Health interjected to assert that the cases he had personally seen are already “at the tip of an iceberg,” as a reported 110,000 doses of vaccines are being rolled out to New York in a bid to halt the expeditious spread of the “rare disease.”
For those who haven’t been kept in the loop, monkeypox is considered a bug that stems from the same family as smallpox, though symptoms are believed to be less serious than the latter. Monkeypox, which has most commonly been found in people located in Central and West Africa, is believed to have spread from animals to humans, which makes it a zoonotic virus, with its first human infection dating back to 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Monkeypox is contagious and can spread from close contact with another person, health advisors have said. Some of the ways in which the virus can be transmitted are through contact with body fluids like semen and blood, lesions on the skin of someone who’s contracted it, respiratory droplets that people breathe in, and finally, things that have touched the infected body fluids, which include clothing and bedding.
So New York says #Monkeypox an “imminent threat” to public health & San Francisco declares the virus a “LOCAL” #PublicHealthEmergency, but #HHS @SecBecerra says NO #publichealth emergency yet for the nation, which may top 5000 cases today.https://t.co/Zxquzaf6sV
— Donna Young 📰 🗞️ (@DonnaYoungDC) July 29, 2022
RELATED: Man With MonkeyPox Speaks Out About His Symptoms: ‘It’s Such An Ugly Virus’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday that New York state will indeed receive 110,000 new doses of monkeypox vaccine, which he believes will halt the continuous spread.
“Today, I am happy to announce that of the 786,000 Denmark vaccines now in our national stockpile, and cleared by the FDA, New York City will be getting more than 80,000 doses, which is more than 10%,” he revealed in a statement. “Moreover, New York State will be receiving 30,000 individual doses. This is a big win for public health, and New York.”
“The federal government has more work to do to fully contain the monkeypox threat, but today marks a critical step in that fight and delivers a huge sigh of relief to New Yorkers waiting for their monkeypox vaccine. More are on the way.”