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Monkeypox surges in NYC and new data reveals the gay men most at risk – Queerty

A man scratches his arm
Posed by model (Photo: Shutterstock)

Monkeypox is reportedly surging in New York City and thousands have tried to get themselves vaccinated, overwhelming the system set up by the city.

There have now been over 1,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the US, with New York City having more than anywhere else. The city’s official figure jumped from 223 cases on Monday to 336 yesterday, but experts think the true figure will be higher.

Earlier this week, the city tapped a new contractor, Affiliated Physicians, to administer its monkeypox vaccines. When it opened up appointment slots online on Tuesday, the website quickly crashed when thousands tried to book.

Related: Gay man with monkeypox reveals symptoms and lesions in viral video

The city has around 7,000 two-shot vaccine doses to give out. Many of these have already been administered, with a further 14,500 due from the federal government by the end of this week. The city is prioritizing men who have sex with men who have had multiple sex partners in recent months.

A man is vaccinated
Posed by model (Photo: Shutterstock)

On Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams wrote to President Biden, saying there is an “urgent and unmet demand” in the city for the monkeypox vaccine. He said the city needed far more than the 14,500 shots already promised.

Adams also urged the Biden administration to re-think how many vaccines should be allocated for first and second doses. He suggested more vaccine shots be given out urgently as first doses to promote further widespread immunity in the community.

Adams also had a telephone meeting on Tuesday with the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We discussed the supply constraints that New York City is facing and the urgency to expand our vaccine access footprint to more people, in more neighborhoods, through more partners and providers,” he said in a statement.

Who is getting monkeypox?

Meanwhile, data from the UK, which was one of the first countries in Europe to experience the current monkeypox outbreak, has revealed who is acquiring the virus. In short, it’s sexually-active gay men, many of whom have been traveling to festivals and other events.

The UK now has 1,735 confirmed cases of the disease, with most of those in London.

Of those cases, 96% were gay or bisexual men. Almost a third had traveled abroad in the 21 days before diagnosis, and one in five were under the age of 30. Just over half had had an STI in the previous 12 months, and 31% had had ten or more sexual partners in the previous three months.

The UK also asked those with monkeypox to confirm if they’d attended a list of settings in the period before infection. Four out of ten had attended festivals. In some instances, two or more monkeypox cases could be traced back to the same festival on the same day.

UK data on places people had visited prior to monkeypox infection, released July 6th, 2022

It’s likely a similar pattern may be emerging in the US, with at least a couple of cases linked back to the International Mr. Leather event in Chicago in late May.

Related: Monkeypox: International Mr Leather event in Chicago linked to cases

What is monkeypox

Monkeypox is caused by a virus similar to smallpox. Early symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

It will often be accompanied by a chickenpox-like rash, with lesions tending to eventually scab over and fall off.

Monkeypox lesions
Monkeypox lesions (Photo: UK Health Security Agency)

It’s usually a mild, self-limiting illness, and most people will recover within weeks. However, the deadliest variant of the virus can be fatal for up to one in ten of those infected.

The form of the virus currently circulating is believed to be milder, with a fatality rate of less than 1 percent. No one is known to have died in this current outbreak.

Anyone who feels unwell and notices an unusual rash is advised to seek medical help.

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