As local clinics and hospitals start seeing lines of people looking for a monkeypox vaccine, San Francisco officials are demanding the feds speed up the process of getting more to our area.
"This vaccine already exists in the world, folks in Europe and Canada are getting it,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.
That’s why he, and other local leaders gathered at City Hall Tuesday, calling for more federal help getting those doses to the city, where thousands are now asking to be vaccinated.
The supervisor said some are now comparing it to the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
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“It doesn’t seem like the CDC or DHS are recognizing this is a real problem,” said Mandelman.”Push them to respond more quickly.”
So far, the city has received just under 3,000 vaccine doses and he’s calling on the federal government to provide an additional 35,000 doses immediately. A demand city health officials said would be a good start.
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“That is a starting point, that is what we’re asking for today so we can fully supply to our partners to get the vaccine as quickly as possible,” said Susan Phillip, health officer for the city and county of San Francisco.
“That is a starting point, that is what we’re asking for today so we can fully supply to our partners to get the vaccine as quickly as possible,” said Phillip.
The number of reported monkeypox cases in the city currently stands at 60, but health officials believe there are many more unreported cases.
People could prevent infection 14 days after getting vaccinated, according to health officials.
The catch now is finding an available dose.
