New York City opening 2,500 new monkeypox vaccine appointments
NEW YORK -- The number of cases of monkeypox in New York is on the rise again.
According to state health officials, there have been 238 confirmed cases, including 223 in New York City.
The rise in cases comes as Mayor Eric Adams has sent a letter to the president, pleading for more doses of the vaccine.
But as CBS2's Nick Caloway reported Monday, there is some good news.
"I'm suddenly concerned about monkeypox," Chelsea resident Michael Carroll said.
READ MORE: Monkeypox vaccine appointments in Suffolk County fully booked in less than 1 hour
Carroll stopped by the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic in Manhattan in the hope of getting vaccinated against monkeypox. He said the increasing number of cases has been concerning.
"And I have a lot of friends I hang out with and they're like, they know somebody with it. It's the typical old pandemic story. They know somebody with it. It's real," Carroll said.
But like many, Carroll was turned away without a shot in the arm. He said he was told there is not enough doses, and that new appointments will be available online Tuesday at 1 p.m. Some can be booked via a scheduling link on the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website, here.
More doses of the vaccine are on the way. The feds are sending 14,500 shots to New York City later this week.
But during a virtual town hall hosted by city and state health commissioners, officials said we need even more.
"There has not been enough vaccine. It's clear that more vaccine is needed," state health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said.
Adams echoed that in a letter sent to President Joe Biden on Monday. The mayor called New York City the "epicenter of this outbreak," accounting for 20 percent of the current U.S. cases, while only receiving 10 percent of vaccine allocation.
Adams requested that the president "send New York City as much vaccine as possible, as quickly as possible."
READ MORE: As monkeypox case numbers climb, some New Yorkers are frustrated with the city's vaccine rollout
Monkeypox is a viral infection that usually doesn't cause serious illness. Health officials say current cases are primarily spreading among social networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
However, doctors warn against stigmatizing certain groups and say others are at risk, too.
"There's nothing stopping this virus from infecting someone of any identity," New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.
Health officials said there's also a shortage of widespread testing for monkeypox right now and called for the feds to help.
The city Department of Health also launched a text alert system for information about vaccine appointments and more. Please text "monkeypox" to 692-692 to receive those updates.
