The declaration will allow local authorities to mobilize more resources and staff to deal with the outbreak and speed up emergency planning. The city has recorded 261 cases so far, out of about 4,600 in the U.S., according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “San Francisco is an epicenter for the country. 30 percent of all cases in California are in San Francisco,” said San Francisco Health Officer Susan Phillip. In a crisis that has so far disproportionately affected men who have sex with men, he added: “I am issuing this statement to reaffirm our commitment to the well-being of these communities and to enable us to move more quickly to acquire and distribute resources are needed to help those disproportionately affected.” Also Thursday, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T Bassett said monkeypox is an immediate threat to public health. More than a quarter of the US cases – 1,341 – are in New York, mostly concentrated in New York. Last week, San Francisco leaders and LGBTQ+ advocates protested in front of the regional office of the US Department of Health and Human Services against what they saw as a sluggish response to the monkeypox outbreak. “San Francisco has been at the forefront of public health responses to HIV and Covid-19, and we will be at the forefront of monkeypox,” state Sen. Scott Wiener, San Francisco’s representative, said in a statement. “We cannot and will not let the LGTBQ+ community dry up.” No emergency closures or restrictions are planned, as monkeypox is mainly spread through very close skin-to-skin contact. But local health organizations in San Francisco are advocating for easier, broader access to testing and more vaccine doses. Those calls are echoed by leaders in other major cities, where epidemiologists warn that initial delays in rolling out tests mean the actual number of cases is likely to exceed the number of confirmed cases. “In the face of a frustratingly slow federal response, it is even more important that we are able to mobilize all available local resources to obtain vaccines as quickly and equitably as possible,” said San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. So far, San Francisco has received 8,200 doses of Jynneos, the best monkeypox vaccine. However, officials had initially requested 35,000 doses to cover the most vulnerable residents. Residents had to wait in long lines for scarce doses. “We should have been able to quickly control this outbreak,” Wiener told the Guardian last week. “And instead it’s like Mad Max Thunderdome to make a vaccine.” Health workers also said more local resources are needed to reach particularly vulnerable residents, including the unsheltered population.
