By Eric Burkett | SACRAMENTO – Although both San Francisco and the state of New York declared public health emergencies July 28 to help contain the spread of monkeypox, California will not be doing so, according to Dr. Tomás Aragón, director and state public health officer of the California Department of Public Health. At least not yet, he told reporters.
In a live teleconference from Sacramento July 29, Aragón told reporters that the department takes this outbreak very seriously, and has communicated to the federal government that California needs more assistance. However, with a strong infrastructure already in place because of the still ongoing COVID pandemic, he said, California can decide later whether to declare a public health emergency.
“All that infrastructure is really coming into play right now,” said Aragón, who added that California is thus in a much better place to handle the monkeypox outbreak.
The state health agency noted that last week, it had called on federal health officials to make more vaccine doses available to California “as quickly as possible,” estimating it needs an additional 600,000 to 800,000 JYNNEOS vaccine doses. The Biden administration announced Thursday more doses will be distributed nationwide, leaving California officials “hopeful” their vaccine request can be met.
A July 28 statement from Governor Gavin Newsom’s office to the Bay Area Reporter emphasized the gravity with which the state is approaching the outbreak.
“California is taking this outbreak very seriously and the state will continue to work with local health departments and community advocates to ensure that we’re able to assist in providing care, testing, and information to everyone who needs it,” the statement read. “The administration has requested more vaccines from the federal government and contacted the manufacturer directly to ask for more. CDPH is closely monitoring monkeypox transmission in the U.S. and California to assist in case prevention, ensure rapid identification and treatment, and inform our ongoing response. We will continue to evaluate the need for additional measures.”
An additional 72,000 JYNNEOS vaccine doses have been allocated to California, plus another 48,000 for Los Angeles County. The state has distributed more than 25,000 vaccine doses to date.
“We continue to approach monkeypox with the utmost urgency to slow its spread in California, distributing scarce vaccine doses to impacted communities, providing prevention information and testing, and doing what we can to increase access to treatment,” said Aragón. “This virus has impacted more than 750 Californians to date, and we know that has been incredibly challenging for those individuals and families. We remain focused on doing what we can to reduce risk, increase awareness, and get additional access to vaccines and treatment.”
Aragón addressed reporters a day after New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary T. Bassett had declared monkeypox an “Imminent Threat to Public Health” in New York State.
“Based on the ongoing spread of this virus, which has increased rapidly and affected primarily communities that identify as men who have sex with men, and the need for local jurisdictions to administer vaccines, I’ve declared monkeypox an Imminent Threat to Public Health throughout New York State,” stated Bassett. “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.”
New York City accounts for the lion’s share of New York’s cases with 1,092 of the state’s total of 1,383, as of July 29.
San Francisco’s public health department declared a public health state of emergency Thursday because of the city’s rapidly growing monkeypox outbreak. It also announced it expects to receive 4,220 monkeypox vaccine doses this week, so it’s reopening the vaccine clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center Monday, August 1.
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The preceding article was previously published by the Bay Area Reporter and is republished by permission.
