Gov. Kathy Hochul declares state disaster emergency to confront monkeypox outbreak
NEW YORK -- Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday declared a state disaster emergency to strengthen New York state's efforts to confront the monkeypox outbreak.
The governor says the executive order will allow the state to respond more quickly and "allows health care professionals to take additional steps that will help get more New Yorkers vaccinated."
This comes on the heels of a group of elected officials and health care advocates saying New York City and state are not taking seriously enough.
The virus is being classified a threat by the state, but the city is holding off on declaring it anything.
MONKEYPOX IN NYC: Identifying symptoms, prevention tips, how to get a vaccine and more
New York state's earlier declaration of the monkeypox virus as an "imminent threat to public health" was criticized by several Manhattan-based elected officials who say that is understating it.
They want an official state of emergency be made not just by the state but by New York City as well. Cases in the city are now over 1,200.
"We need a much more robust response," Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
Rosenthal was included in the joint statement, along with Sen. Brad Hoylman, Rep. Jerry Nadler, Councilmember Erik Bottcher and Rosenthal's Assembly colleagues, Deborah Glick and Dick Gottfried.
Watch Dick Brennan's report
"There will be many more people affected by monkeypox in upcoming months, so we need to set in place how do we help those who are affected by it if they can't work, if they can't afford medications, if they can't afford to take off from their job but they're required to isolate," Rosenthal said. "That's why declaring a state of emergency here in the city and the state would loosen those resources from the federal government, and then the city could do, just like they did during COVID, outreach, messaging, telling people how to handle the situation if they find that they have lesions or they've been with a friend who has the disease."
READ MORE: Over 100,000 monkeypox vaccine doses coming to New York state
Mayor Eric Adams said his team is still figuring out the right declaration for New York City and told reporters it is not his call.
"[New York City health commissioner] Dr. Vassan, he's still making a determination. It would free up and allow me to do certain things and we do the same thing in the city, and he's going to make that determination," Adams said.
New Yorkers are frustrated by numerous log jams and red tape, including glitches on the city's vaccine appointment website and the lack of vaccine supply from the federal government.
Rosenthal put pressure on officials to fast-track approvals for laboratories and get more testing.
"The government has to show, on all levels, they're expediting vaccine production, they're expediting and making testing free and available to anyone who fears they have monkeypox, and then we have to deliver resources and help people through the illness so they can come out the other side healthy," Rosenthal said.
An additional 80,000 doses have been freed up for delivery to New York City, but officials say it will be four to six weeks before the shots arrive and can go into arms.
Watch Dave Carlin's report
More vaccines are no relief for those already infected.
Dr. Virat Madia is on the front lines as an emergency room doctor in New York City.
"They are in such excruciating pain that the emergency department is the first place that they come," Madia told CBS2's Dick Brennan. "And the patients I'm seeing are suffering from pain, but then for weeks afterwards and sometimes even longer than that."
"You have people that have 102 fever. You know, they've got aches and pains all over their body," said Jeffrey Galaise, who is recovering from monkeypox.
He says so many people don't know how to get their hands on antiviral drugs like the experimental TPOXX that he was able to get.
"They're going from their doctor to the walk-in clinic to the hospital, and they're getting sent away. They can't get the medication anywhere, and there's maybe one or two ... clinics across the city that are offering this, and it's not a sustainable system for health care," Galaise said.
The Biden administration is deciding whether to declare a national emergency, but outraged critics are likening its response to the one given to the HIV outbreak in the '80s.
"This government pretends to be our friends. This government says that they're LGBTQ allies and they wave the rainbow flag, but if you are saying the same thing that the FDA did in the '80s, then you are not our friends," said Mordechai Levovitz, with Jewish Queer Youth.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy is demanding a much larger share of vaccine from the federal supply.
Staffers from Bergen New Bridge Medical Center arrived at a clinic on East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus, New Jersey, with a very meager supply -- so limited, they only administered 100 vaccine shots and left just 200 more on reserve.
With the slow rollout of vaccine, people are being warned.
READ MORE: 2 new monkeypox vaccination sites opening in New Jersey
"It is curable, however we have to use common sense. This is one of those diseases that lives on hard surfaces. It can harbor itself on linen," said Thomas Amitrano, chief nursing officer at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.
The group of New York-based elected officials also included in their statement the monkeypox is especially worrisome as 1.1 million college students come back to campuses and much more must be done before that happens in the fall.
