Racial Disparities Have Marked the Monkeypox Vaccine Rollout & More Latest News Here – Up Jobs

New York City released new data on Thursday showing stark disparities in monkeypox vaccine access, with Black men receiving the vaccine at a much lower rate than members of other racial groups.

White New Yorkers represent about 45 percent of people at heightened risk of monkeypox infection, and received 46 percent of vaccine doses. Black New Yorkers, who make up 31 percent of the at-risk population, received only 12 percent of doses administered so far, according to data from the city’s Health Department.

Hispanic residents were overrepresented among vaccine recipients. They made up 16 percent of the at-risk population, but received 23 percent of shots. Hispanic men so far represent the largest share of monkeypox patients.

Racial and ethnic imbalances in vaccine distribution are also happening elsewhere, as a highly limited supply of monkeypox vaccine has often gone first to those with better access to the health care system and more time to figure out when doses will be released. There are also concerns among advocates that a new method of administering the vaccines favored by the federal government, which uses only a fraction of the current dose, may inadvertently deepen disparities.

New York City has vaccinated more people for monkeypox so far than any other jurisdiction. Some 64,000 of the roughly 130,000 people whom it deems most at risk have gotten the first of two doses. New York City estimates that there are about 134,000 people — primarily men who have sex with men — who are at heightened risk of infection, based on a 2020 city health survey.

The racial disparities have left public health experts and activists frustrated that lessons from the Covid-19 response remain unlearned. Black and Hispanic New Yorkers were far more likely than white New Yorkers to be infected with Covid, and to be hospitalized and die during the deadly first wave in the spring of 2020. They were also less likely to receive vaccinations early on, and less likely to receive early treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies.

Public health experts and activists were particularly dismayed that appointments for the monkeypox vaccine had been doled out largely on a first-come, first-serve basis, just as they were in an early phase of the Covid vaccine drive. Public health experts say that has meant that vaccine recipients have tended to be whiter and wealthier than other eligible New Yorkers because they are more likely to have flexible schedules, enabling them to spend the hours it can take to find a vaccine appointment.

“We went back to vaccine cattle calls — everyone come — even though we know that if we do broad-based, top-down, no-nuance messaging, it is not going to reach everyone who needs it,” said Matthew Rose, a Black H.I.V. and social justice activist. “This was a foreseeable problem. We ran the same play we have run every other time before.”

In New York City, the first batch of vaccines were given with little advance notice, midday on a Thursday, at a sexual health clinic in Chelsea, Manhattan, to a mostly white crowd. Later vaccine offerings relied on a glitchy internet appointment system.

A clinic was set up in Harlem, but those who came appeared to be mostly white and lived elsewhere. Neighborhood residents weren’t able to walk in and get shots, a decision that came under deep criticism from community members who felt excluded. Some Black men have said the city didn’t do enough to warn them about the disease or how to protect themselves.

“I think the information should’ve been promoted a lot more about monkeypox vaccines amongst not only the L.G.B.T. community, but for us Black and brown people as well,” said Dominic Faison, 35, a Bronx resident who got monkeypox in early July before even hearing about the vaccine.

In recent weeks, the city health department has shifted tactics, giving priority to high-risk patients and providing batches of doses directly to community health organizations. But the effort has yet to fully correct the imbalance. The vaccine is called Jynneos and is administered in a two-dose course.

“Black men in particular are underrepresented in our vaccination effort compared to their risk,” said Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city health commissioner, in a Thursday interview.

“I do think that we have work to do to advance equity,” Dr. Vasan added. “And there are sometimes trade offs in terms of speed and our ability to go deep, build relationships, work with trusted partners, and get the folks who need it most access to immunization.”