New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency Friday night over the continued spread of monkeypox,
CNBC reports.
She said the emergency declaration would lead to swifter response and better vaccination distribution. It came a day after the New York State Commissioner of Health declared monkeypox an “imminent threat to public health.”
“I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront the monkeypox outbreak,” Hochul tweeted Friday.
Hochul indicated the state is an emerging center for the virus, which manifests in symptoms of rashes and lesions across the body, extremities and genitals.
New York has recorded the most cases of the virus nationwide — 1,345 — followed by California with 799, according to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention data last updated Friday.
“More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond,” Hochul wrote.
The emergency, enacted through executive order, allows EMS personnel, pharmacists, midwives, physicians and certified nurse practitioners to administer vaccinations, the governor’s office said in a statement.
The state was already in the process of securing more vaccines, expanding testing, and distributing information via a website and a text notification system, the governor’s office said.
On Thursday, Hochul said a new federal government allotment would mean 110,000 additional doses of the monkeypox vaccine for the state, for a total of 170,000 so far.
