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The City Council’s LGBTQ caucus on Thursday will introduce legislation aimed at strengthening New York’s response to the global emergency, following the city health department’s push to spread information and vaccinations earlier this summer.
Since the beginning of June, the city has been at war Expansion Officials say it is having a disproportionate impact on men who have sex with men – with 99% of cases in that community, according to July 18. Health advice From the city’s health and mental hygiene department.
On July 30, DOHMH Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and Mayor Eric Adams declared a public health emergency.
But vaccination has been distributed Obsessed with problems As the case numbers increase. In the year As of August 10, approximately 2,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the city. reported In the city’s health department.
Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center, told CT: “There aren’t enough vaccines to give everyone who needs them.” Morse said the city’s health department is “doing everything they can” to the best of their ability.
The legislative package includes a resolution by Brooklyn Democratic Councilwoman Crystal Hudson on Thursday asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase the number of monkey vaccines available and verify the number of vaccines sent to New York. York reflects the range of issues here.
He is also pushing a bill from Councilmembers Chi Ose (D-Brooklyn) and Eric Boettcher (D-Manhattan) that would require the DOHMH to increase reporting data on the outbreak.
If passed, the health department would be required to immediately publish more general information about monkeypox in the city — such as the number of monkeypox vaccinations at the beginning and end of each day, the total number of diagnoses, the total number of cases, and the total number of people vaccinated.
Ose said New York has a “closing window” to effectively deal with monkeypox.
“It is imperative that the Council recognize the urgency of the moment and pass these bills quickly, so that the city is equipped with the necessary tools to win this battle with minimal damage before it’s too late,” he said in a statement to the city. .
‘Health emergency’
If passed, the bill in the Hudson-sponsored package would also require the city’s health department to prioritize communities vulnerable to the virus and those with low vaccine access.
The department is required to review the monkey disease and the demographics of vaccine recipients on a weekly basis and adjust the vaccination sites and working hours.
The law requires the Department of Health to conduct rabies education and prevention efforts and to establish an online portal for the vaccination program.
“When you have a portal for health emergencies, we need to make sure that this kind of thing – and even for Covid – is not a mistake. “Just because it’s up — but not working — doesn’t make it efficient or effective,” Hudson said.
reported between Lack of staff Hudson, of the city’s health department, told the City that what is being asked of the health department is not much and that the caucus is “simply holding the health department’s feet to the fire.” The council member emphasized that the department needs to do better for communities of color, as well as low-income and queer communities.
“I think we’re asking people to go completely naked to protect people’s safety and health,” she said. “We’re asking them to do their jobs. We’re asking them to protect the health of New Yorkers and protect the health of New Yorkers during this pandemic.”
A DOHMH spokesperson told the CIT that the department will “review any proposed legislation.
A representative for the health department did not take direct questions about its employees.
Assemblywoman Lynn Shulman (D-Queens), chair of the Health Committee and a member of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus, noted that DOHMH is already doing some of the things included in the legislative package, but said there are some things that could be done better.
City Council Speaker Adrian Adams called the monkeypox outbreak “extremely concerning” and said it “needs urgent attention”.
In a statement to CT, Adams said, “As vaccines become available, it is critical that the city distribute resources equitably so that all New Yorkers have access to the vaccine.”
The House Health Committee is set to hold a hearing. On August 24 The city’s response to monkey disease and the World Health Organization designation a Global health emergency.
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