Many say they are concerned about monkeypox vaccine equity in New York City
NEW YORK -- Not only are monkeypox vaccines hard to find, there are questions about if a portion of the city's most vulnerable population is missing out.
CBS2's Natalie Duddridge spoke to people Wednesday who have been trying to book a shot for weeks.
"I had two desktops at work and two mobile phones, like trying to refresh," said Kendrick Roopchand of the Upper East Side.
Dozens waiting for their vaccine appointments outside the Central Harlem Sexual Health Clinic considered themselves lucky they were finally able to book a slot.
"Whatever appointment whatever day, I just need it. I've been trying for three weeks," Roopchand said.
READ MORE: Monkeypox vaccine appointments remain very difficult to get in New York City
On Tuesday, 2,500 new appointments were released at 1 p.m. and within minutes the city's website crashed.
"Pretty much all of New York was hovering over the site. The city probably should have been prepared for that," Midtown resident David Cirillo said.
On Wednesday, Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said the city is working to build a smoother system.
"We apologize for the problems yesterday. We apologize for the problems last week," Vasan said.
Officials say monkeypox cases are rising at an increasing rate in New York City. A record 44 new cases were reported Tuesday, the most yet on a single day.
Concern over the spread has people traveling all over the city to find appointments.
Of the 30-plus people Duddridge spoke to standing on line in Harlem, just two said they were from the neighborhood. That brings up questions about vaccine equity to predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods.
"If you're in the Bronx or here in Harlem, as you can see, people in the community can't gain access. Once again, that disparity [in] communities of color exacerbates itself," one person said.
"I live in Midtown West. Thinking about it, I do feel kind of bad that I may be taking somebody's place who lives on Harlem and needs it more than I do," Eric Trujillo said.
But it was the only appointment location he could find.
There are also complaints that many people don't have jobs that allow them to sit in front of their computers pressing refresh, or even leave work during the day to get a shot.
"We need to take into account people that don't have flexible schedules, might not have internet access during the middle of the day. Why couldn't we support walk-ups?" one person said.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine took to Twitter, saying the city should adopt a pre-registration model to ensure vaccines are distributed evenly among zip codes.
Vasan said to address disparity, of the 2,500 appointments released Tuesday, half were referral based from medical professionals who are submitting the city's most vulnerable residents.
The White House has said it is sending more than 14,000 more shots to the city later this week.
