(New York Daily News): New York State Mayor Adams’ administration is dipping into the city’s monkeypox vaccine reserves in order to get as many first shots into arms as possible, flouting federal guidance to address severe supply shortages in the city as cases continue to mount.
In a statement late Friday, the city Health Department said it’s switching to a “single-dose strategy,” meaning it will no longer keep enough vaccine stockpiled so that those who got their first shot can bank on getting their second one within the next 28 days.
Instead, the city will administer whatever vaccine it has as first doses, according to the department.
“New York City is the epicenter of the monkeypox outbreak in the U.S. and yet does not have sufficient vaccine supply to reach the number of people who need it protect themselves,” the statement said.
Earlier in the day, President Biden’s top public health officials recommended against the single-dose approach.
As reported by the New York Daily News, the Adams administration’s policy switch came as the Health Department reported at least 461 confirmed monkeypox infections in the city — accounting for more than 30% of the total U.S. caseload.
As a result of the new strategy, the city was able to immediately make another 1,000 monkeypox vaccine appointments available.
(News Source: New York Daily News)