LIST: See open SF monkeypox vaccine sites here
[Ads /]
This clinic opened at 8 a.m. but people ABC7 News spoke with said they arrived around 6 a.m. and there were already hundreds of people in line.
Shortly after 8 a.m., they started turning people away.
The hundreds who arrived were hoping to get a monkeypox vaccine that recently arrived in San Francisco. "Feels good to get ahead," said resident Aaron Perlstein.
MORE: Everything you need to know about monkeypox origin, infection, vaccines, and treatment
It was a big relief for many who waited in line for hours, hoping to get one of the not-many-available doses.
The SF Department of Health Services says they received over 4,000 doses of the vaccine but they stopped accepting drop-ins not long after they opened.
Ben Ellsworth says he arrived two hours before the clinic opened and already hundreds were in line. It was his third attempt at getting a vaccine.
VIDEO: Man recovering from monkeypox describes symptoms, experience; doctor answers questions
Man recovering from monkeypox describes symptoms, experience
"Last week I showed up with a bunch of friends and we were turned away because there was a supply issue," he says. "Came back again and same thing. I showed up at 6 a.m. today and there was already almost 200 people in line."
San Francisco has 141 probable or confirmed cases of monkeypox.
[Ads /]
Eligibility for the vaccine has expanded but the supply is not close to meeting the demand.
Many are demanding more action to make the vaccine available.
"Luckily a lot of my friends have been able to receive a vaccine, but I have a lot friends who haven't because they have been frustrated with the process of just trying to secure a vaccine," Ellsworth says.
One thing to note is that those who had appointments were not being turned away. They were allowed to get a vaccine dose.
There are a number of places where you can get a vaccine by appointment, including Kaiser Permanente, which is now accepting appointments for non-Kaiser patients.
Earlier, Mayor London Breed sent a note to the U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services asking for help.
Similar efforts are being done in the South Bay, where Santa Clara County hopes to have a vaccine clinic open soon. They're already added a few hundred doses of the vaccine but they're hoping to have those clinics give out hundreds more.
"With this new effort this week, we're hoping to get out a lot more vaccines for people who may not have come into contact with someone they knew had monkey," said Santa Clara County Health Department's Dr. George Han.
[Ads /]
San Franciscans eligible for a Jynneosvaccine are:
- Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and trans people who have sex with men and have had multiple (more than one) sexual partners in past 14 days
- Sex workers of any sexual orientation/gender
- Identified as a close contact of someone who has monkeypox (suspected or confirmed)
- Received a notification from a venue or event of a potential exposure to someone who has monkeypox (suspected or confirmed)
- A laboratory worker who routinely handles monkeypox virus samples for diagnosis or testing purposes or any clinician who has a high-risk occupational exposure
Get more information about the monkeypox vaccine and details about open vaccination sites from San Francisco health officials here.