San Francisco officials declared a state of emergency Thursday in response to the growing spread of monkeypox cases across the city.
The declaration will allow Mayor London Breed and other city officials to marshal resources and personnel to confront the intensifying monkeypox outbreak. As of Wednesday, the city reported that 261 people had confirmed or probable monkeypox infections. Health officials said they anticipate that figure will only grow in the coming days and weeks.
A rapid surge of monkeypox cases in San Francisco has collided with a scarcity of available vaccines. To date, city officials said they’ve received about 8,200 doses of the Jynneos vaccine, which is intended to prevent monkeypox and smallpox in adults.
“We want the flexibility to be able to use our resources to best serve the public and protect health,” San Francisco Health Officer Susan Philip said Thursday. “We also want to affirm our commitment to the health of our LGBTQ communities in San Francisco, as we have historically always done as a city,” she added, referring to the population most impacted by monkeypox so far.
read more:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/monkeypox-sf-state-of-emergency-17335483.php
Replies