50,000 monkeypox vaccine doses ahead of LGBTQ Pride gatherings

The U.S. will reserve approximately 50,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine from its stockpile for areas with upcoming gay Pride events, the White House said Thursday.

The supply surge will target large gatherings and supplement existing local allocations, said Robert Fenton, the White House monkeypox coordinator.

“We’re already starting to work with jurisdictions on a number of events taking place in the coming days and weeks,” Fenton said in a news briefing. “These courses will be made available to jurisdictions where the outbreak is most severe.”

It was not immediately clear how many — if any — of the doses were bound for New York, a hot spot in the national monkeypox outbreak.

The state Health Department was reviewing the announcement, said Cort Ruddy, a spokesman. The city Health Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As of Thursday, New York City had reported 2,548 cases of the painful but rarely fatal disease. Most cases affected LGBQ+ New Yorkers.

The national tally of cases sat at 13,517, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No monkeypox deaths have emerged in the U.S.

At least a dozen U.S. Pride events are set to take place across the next two months, including early September events in New Orleans and Atlanta, according to The Associated Press.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said in the news briefing that the federal government has “been working closely” with the jurisdictions in New Orleans and Fulton County, where Georgia is located, ahead of the events.

In New York, the seventh annual Plattsburgh Pride celebration in the North Country is scheduled for Oct. 1.

Monkeypox, believed to primarily spread through intimate contact and historically confined to Africa, first cropped up in New York City in the spring.

The federal government has faced scrutiny over its sluggish response to the advance of the virus. New Yorkers, in particular, have clamored for shots.

[ NYC to receive 10% of federal monkeypox vaccine order despite high local case load ]

But monkeypox vaccination rates in the five boroughs have accelerated in recent weeks, according to city data.

On Thursday, the Health Department said more than 63,000 vaccine doses have been administered in New York City, more shots than in any other American city.