“We are grateful for the one-day mass vaccination site in the Bronx, and given the severity of the monkeypox outbreak, we are working with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to advocate for a permanent sexual health clinic that offers monkeypox testing, antiviral treatments, vaccinations, and wrap-around public health services,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson.
“We learned many lessons during the COVID-19 outbreak where we were forced to play catch up on understanding the nature of the virus. What the Bronx needs now is robust information-sharing to protect our residents as statistics show they are among the most vulnerable population citywide when faced with a health crisis.” Borough President Gibson continued, “This is primarily caused by underlying chronic illnesses and conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease, making it critical that resources are available in our borough. We are also calling on the Center for Disease Control to urgently allocate additional vaccines to New York City and joining with DOHMH to stress the importance of precautions beyond vaccination to our communities.”
According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, anyone can spread Monkeypox, but most current cases are among gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men. Those eligible to receive the 2-dose JYNNEOS vaccination include this population of men ages 18 and older and who have had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days.
1-day only pop-up locations to receive a vaccination on Sunday July 17, 2022 are at the Bronx High School of Science at 75 West 205th Street in the Bronx; Aviation High School at 45-30 36th Street in Queens, Bushwick Education at 440 Irving Avenue in Brooklyn, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt at 165 Vanderbilt Avenue in Staten Island. Regular sites include the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic located at 303 9th Avenue , the Central Harlem Health Clinic at 2238 5th Avenue (at 137th Street) and Corona Sexual Health Clinic located at 34-33 Junction Boulevard. For further information, go to NYC.gov/health/Monkeypox.
On Monday July 18, 2022, from 6-8pm, Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, will also meet virtually with the Department of Mental Health and Mental Hygiene, The Bronx LGBTQIA+ Task Force and healthcare professionals to educate residents on the outbreak and transmission of moneypox, and the need for an equitable distribution of the vaccine.