For immediate release
Contact: Maya Martin-Udry | mmartinudry@harlemunited.org | 646.400.7621
New York, July 12 – Community-based organizations are extremely concerned about the JYNNEOSTM monkeypox vaccine’s inequitable distribution. The epicenter of the monkeypox outbreak is New York City (NYC), primarily among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. If our public health agencies at all levels of government fail to act quickly and effectively, we fear that this virus will continue to spread throughout NYC and become endemic, not only among white gay and bisexual men, but also Black and Latinx gay and bisexual men, as well as transgender women and non-binary people of color. We know from decades of collective experience addressing the HIV epidemic the monkeypox virus could follow suit and concentrate among people of color.
According to the best available data:
- As of July 11, of the 865 confirmed infections of monkeypox in the U.S., 223 (25.8%) are in NYC, the highest proportion of any state/city;
- Despite bearing the disproportionate burden of 25.8% of the known monkeypox infections in the nation, NYC was allocated less than 11% of the 56,000 doses of JYNNEOS™ already made available nationwide; and, we have been notified that NYC will be receiving only 14,652 (10.2%) of the 144,000 vaccine doses that will be distributed the week of July 10.
In partnership with Apicha Community Health Center, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, GMHC, Harlem United, Latino Commission on AIDS, and Translatinx Network, we wrote a letter to key federal leaders calling for a more equitable distribution of the JYNNEOS™ vaccine.
Community-based organizations and other local leadership are essential to fighting the monkeypox outbreak and to ensuring that access to vaccines, along with prevention messaging, is free of stigma and discrimination.
Image: Long line for Monkeypox Vaccines in NYC. Hiram Durán for The New York Times
