PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After Philadelphia health officials blasted their federal counterparts for slashing their monkeypox vaccine allotment, they say another 3,000 vials are now on the way.
With newly-released data showing stark racial disparities in vaccine distribution, officials are promising a more equitable strategy.
"We know from talking with community members that as a city and a state, we must do better when it comes to providing equitable distribution of the monkeypox vaccine,” said Mazzoni Center President and CEO Sultan Shakir.
City health data show there have been more than 250 monkeypox cases in Philadelphia as of Monday. 56% of those who tested positive are Black, while a little less than a quarter are white, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
But when it comes to vaccine numbers, more than half of the 4,220 doses administered so far have gone to white people and less than a quarter to Black Philadelphians.
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Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said an obstacle they're facing in equitable distribution is a lack of federal funding to make vaccination available in places the community trusts.
"We are government. We are health care. We are not the most trusted messengers of this vaccine. So what we've come to realize is that if we want to get to those equitable numbers, and we're really committed to getting there, we have to have funding for this,” said Dr. Bettigole. She added that her department is looking at its own budget to help distribute community grants.
Regional Director of Health and Human Services Dr. Ala Stanford, who is from Philadelphia and started the city’s Black Doctors Consortium, says more people should be able to get the shot with expanded eligibility.
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She said a quarter of vaccines will go to contacts of cases, with the rest heading into the arms of at-risk groups.
Most cases have been among gay, bisexual, and transgender men. An online survey released by the CDC shows some gay, bisexual, and transgender men are taking steps to protect themselves from monkeypox. Of those surveyed, about half say they reduced their number of sex partners, including people met online and one-time encounters.
Still, officials are wary of using language that creates undue stigma.
"This is not a gay disease,” said State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia.
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“It can impact anybody, but the LGBTQIA+ community ... there's a long history here of understanding what can happen when, if an outbreak is isolated, overlooked, and then it expands out to a broader population."
Officials said the city will soon have access to about 3,500 vials, with 1,120 recently ordered. Those shots are in addition to the 720 additional vials promised to Philadelphia.
Dr. Stanford says from the federal level, as of today about 1 million doses of the monkeypox vaccine have been sent out across the country as of Monday. She expects 7 million to be available by February 2023, but it’s unclear if the manufacturer will be able to keep up with global demand.
Dr. Bettigole told NBC10 that the Department of Public Health has found budget funds for community grants to local organizations that can “get this vaccine into the arms of the people at highest risk.”
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