monkeypox

SF General sees successful first day of monkeypox vaccinations, but needs many more doses

ByRyan Curry KGO logo

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

SF General sees successful first day of monkeypox vaccinations

Zuckerberg San Francisco General hospital saw a successful first day of monkeypox vaccinations this week but is still in need of more doses.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Officials at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital were able to vaccinate 950 people Monday during the clinic's reopening. They say only a few were turned away toward the end of the clinic.

"I do believe there were a couple people we had to turn away at the end of the day, and we just had those people come back today," said Dr. Susan Ehrlich, CEO of Zuckerberg SF General.

On Tuesday, the line was significantly shorter. Ehrlich says they take it one day at a time. It is unclear how many doses they can administer.

"This is a day-by-day thing," she said. "We hope to hear more later in the week about how many vaccines. As soon as we have them available, we will get them out to the community."

The pressure turns to Washington. Local officials are calling on the government to get more vaccines made. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on monkeypox on Monday. On Tuesday, the National Coalition of STD Directors stated it wanted more action from the Department of Health.

"Where is the declaration of an MPV public health emergency from Secretary Becerra?" said David Harvey, executive director of the Coalition. "We have over 20,000 new cases in 72 countries. Six thousand cases are in the United States."

San Francisco has some of the highest spread in the country. A majority of the cases are among men who have sex with other men. Ehrlich says the focus is on getting that group vaccinated as soon as possible.

"The root cause is there just isn't enough vaccines available," she said. "Ninety-six or 97% are among men who have sex with other men. That is the group we are really focused on."