Monkeypox Cases Rising Rapidly in New York City, Mostly Among Men

Test tubes labeled "Monkeypox virus positive and negative" are seen in this illustration taken on May 23, 2022. Dado Ruvic/File Photo

Monkeypox cases are increasing rapidly in New York, primarily among social networks of homosexual and bisexual men, officials say.

The New York City Department of Health said in an update on July 15 that there are now 461 cases of monkeypox in the city, which is more than 30 percent of the recorded cases of monkeypox in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Cases are increasing in NYC,” the Health Department said, adding that there are likely to be more cases that haven’t yet been diagnosed.

“Most of these people have not been hospitalized and have recovered on their own,” officials stated.

The Health Department said that New York City, which is the epicenter of the monkeypox outbreak in the United States, has a limited supply of vaccine doses.

“Given the rapid increase in cases, the Health Department has decided that providing first doses to offer protection to more at-risk New Yorkers is the best strategy until we receive adequate vaccine supply,” officials said, noting that the single-dose strategy is in line with the distribution of monkeypox vaccines in the UK and Canada.

Monkeypox is a rare virus believed to be transmitted to humans from animals and, before this year, was endemic to Central and West Africa. It can spread from one person to another through close contact with bodily fluids, lesions, respiratory droplets, or contaminated materials.

Monkeypox can cause pox-like lesions and flu-like symptoms including fever, body aches, fatigue, and headaches, according to scientists.

While anyone can get and spread monkeypox, the current cases are primarily spreading among social networks of “gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men,” according to health officials.

Vaccine Doses Arrive in New York

According to a chart posted on July 15 by Manhattan Borough President Mark D. Levine, 95.5 percent of cases between July 1 and 13 were among men and 60 percent of the cases were attributed to homosexual males and LGBT people.

Approximately 14,500 monkeypox vaccine doses arrived in New York from the federal government last week, and over the weekend, the city added three new vaccine clinics in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn boroughs for people who had already made appointments online. However, thousands of appointments were snapped up immediately.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said on July 15 that New York is scheduled to get another load of just under 33,000 doses.

“New York State and New York City have already received more than 28,000 doses to date, and ... will now receive another 32,785 vaccine doses next week to continue our efforts in responding to and meeting the needs of our most at-risk populations,” she said.

However, Mayor Eric Adams, pointing to New York City’s surge in cases, said more vaccines are needed to combat spread of the virus.

“We have 25 percent of the cases; this is ground zero, this is the epicenter,” he said. “We had great communication with the White House. ... We’re hoping that they’re going to hear us and bring in the numbers that we need.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has ordered another 2.5 million doses of the vaccine, in addition to the 2.5 million that were already ordered on July 1.

The latest order of vaccines announced on July 15 will begin arriving in the Strategic National Stockpile in 2023, “bringing the federal government’s available supply of vaccine to treat monkeypox to nearly 7 million doses by mid-2023,” according to the HHS.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.