New York, NY – Today, Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell sent the following letter the US Center for Disease Control asking for a dramatic increase in monkeypox vaccine availability in New York City.

Although monkeypox poses a risk to all people, it is of particular concern to the current high-risk categories, especially gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, as well as transgender and nonbinary people. Many members of this community have lived through other public health crises, including the HIV epidemic, and are acutely aware of the importance of a strong, swift government response.

The letter calls for increased allocation of the Federal governments existing supply of monkeypox vaccine, reflecting the high number of cases in New York City and the surrounding areas, as well as urges the CDC and other federal actors to act with urgency to remove the bureaucratic hurdles needed to bring the millions of doses of monkeypox vaccine currently stored in Denmark to the United States so the many individuals seeking vaccine appointments can be protected.