County officials found a third suspected case of monkeypox in the the San Diego region. Photo credit: County News Center
Monkeypox vaccination clinics hosted by San Diego County ran out of appointments in a matter of hours following the event’s announcement earlier this week.
The county, which had set aside 800 doses for the effort, said there are no plans yet to host another event, given the nationwide supply shortage.
With a low vaccination inventory, the growing number of confirmed monkeypox cases is concerning public health experts and advocates, given the disproportionate impact that it has on vulnerable groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community.
“The virus is spreading,” said Dr. David Smith, chief of infectious diseases and global public health at UC San Diego. “And we have a vaccine that should help a lot for preventing monkeypox, but we don’t have a lot of vaccine. So, that’s part of the problem.”
The clinic, which began Thursday for those who were able to get an appointment, is the second vaccination event hosted by the county since the first cases of monkeypox were identified in the region mid-June.
San Diego County did not respond to questions about how many people called 211 to schedule an appointment or the demographics of who was able to obtain one, however, a spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Agency said that they were screening those seeking an appointment and prioritizing appointment allocation given specific risk factors, such as pre-existing conditions or risk of potential exposure.
There are currently 3,591 monkeypox infections nationwide, with California seeing the second-highest count compared to other states with 646 cases as of July 26. Twenty confirmed and probable cases of the virus have been identified in San Diego County as of July 22.
Read the full article on inewsource.org.
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