Health officials in San Francisco are raising awareness about the growing number of monkeypox cases, especially among the Latino population. The city is recommending that community members protect themselves amid a limited supply of vaccine doses.
Latinos account for almost 30% of all cases in the city even though they make up 15% of the population, according to the
San Francisco Public Health Department, which also warns that there are more underreported cases.
According to the
NBC News, San Francisco city reported 215 cases on Monday, July 25 alone: “California has recorded 356 cases, recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. Close to 3,500 cases have been counted nationwide. Vaccine scarcity in the U.S. has been linked to supply chain issues. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services anticipates the availability of 1.9 million doses this year and 2.2 million more during the first half of 2023”.
The World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency over the end of July. According to NBC, vaccine shortages in the US have been linked to supply chain problems.
Because of the limited supply in San Francisco, members of the LGBTQ community, who are most at risk, and people who have been exposed to the virus within the last 14 days have gotten priority for vaccine doses.
In San Francisco, due to limited supply, members of the LGBTQ community, who are most at risk, and people exposed to the virus in the past 14 days, were given priority in vaccine doses.
“According to the city's data, members of the LGBTQ community accounted for 88.7% of the city's cases, and 97.7% of those affected were males. However, […] monkeypox can affect anyone, regardless of sexual orientation”, as pointed out by NBC.
Noel Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Public Health Department, said to NBC: “We don't want our community to be stigmatized. We want to make sure that this is not labeled as a disease that affects X, Y or Z community. We've already lived that with HIV [and] AIDS”
