Rep. Maloney Raises Concerns About Monkeypox Vaccine Access and Roll Out With Biden Administration, U.s. Food and Drug Administration, Adams Administration

Press Release

New York, NY -- In response to constituent outreach and an uptick in monkeypox cases in New York City, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) raised concerns with New York City government and the Federal government about the lack of monkeypox virus (MPV) vaccine access and poor vaccine rollout. In New York City, cases are increasing without a steady increase in vaccine and vaccine appointment availability. To date, New York City has received almost 7,000 doses of the MPV vaccine and is slated to receive 14,500 additional doses later this week. As of today, 223 people in New York City have tested positive for orthopoxvirus, all likely to be monkeypox.

In the Congresswoman's letter to the Biden Administration, she expresses concerns about the Federal government's response to the monkeypox virus and how that has affected her constituents in NY-12. She says: "Over the last several weeks, my office has received countless calls from constituents who have been wanting to get vaccinated against MPV but have had trouble accessing vaccines. Many of these calls have been coming from men who have sex with men, who have made up a high number of MPV cases. The lack of access to vaccines is especially troubling because as of Thursday, July 7, New York City had recorded 141 cases of MPV, the most of any city in the United States. In addition, as of today, 223 people in New York City have tested positive for orthopoxvirus, all likely to be monkeypox."

The Congresswoman writes, "The U.S. government currently owns more than a million MPV vaccines that are already vialed, labeled, and ready for delivery, which would vaccinate more than 500,000 people. This is in addition to the 15.8 million doses that are currently in bulk storage in Denmark, which would vaccinate at least 7.5 million people but need to be filled and finished in vials."

She ends the letter by asking the Federal government to release the nearly 17 million doses of vaccines that the U.S. currently has in Denmark. She writes: "Given this large supply and the growing numbers of people with monkeypox within New York City and the country at large, I ask that the federal government release the more than one million MPV vaccines that are ready for delivery and work to fill and finish the more than 15 million doses that are currently in Denmark."

In the Congresswoman's letter to Mayor Adams and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Aswhin Vasan, she highlights similar concerns about the lack of vaccine access and availability, along with a poor City-wide rollout that has left many residents concerned, frustrated, and without a vaccine or appointment. She says: "Our city has found several issues with bottlenecks and inefficiency in the way that these vaccines are being distributed. Last week alone, thousands of New Yorkers waited at their computers for the city to release vaccines through an online system, and many residents have been forced to resort to Twitter for accessing the most up to date information on the city's vaccine supply […] The limited notice and rollout of the MPV vaccines has caused many New Yorkers to forgo getting vaccinated because these individuals have not been able to reserve appointments in time."

The Congresswoman concludes by urging the City "to do whatever it can to make sure that vaccines are distributed more equitably across the whole of our city."

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