The city of Long Beach proclaimed a local emergency on Tuesday, Aug. 2 in response to monkeypox in order to “strengthen the City’s preparedness and ability to respond” to the virus, according to a statement from the city.
In an effort to slow the spread of the monkeypox virus, the City is expanding the eligibility requirements in order to receive the vaccine, effective immediately.
“We are continuing to work proactively to protect the health of every Long Beach resident, and this proclamation will allow us to mobilize more resources,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement from the City. “By expanding vaccine eligibility even further, we can continue working to slow the spread and quickly protect our highest risk populations.”
City manager Tom Modica, who proclaimed the local emergency, said in a statement, “although the numbers of monkeypox are still low, we are taking this response very seriously.”
The emergency allows the City to take preventative measures “to protect and preserve the public health of the city from monkeypox” including, but not limited to, mobilizing City resources, accelerating emergency planning, streamlining staffing, coordinating across other agencies, expediting the ability of the City to purchase necessary supplies to combat monkeypox, allowing for future reimbursement by the State and federal governments and raising awareness throughout Long Beach about monkeypox.
The state of California issued a state of emergency in response to monkeypox on Aug. 2, and counties such as Los Angeles and Orange County have issued similar proclamations.
The list of eligibility requirement for the vaccine Jynneos now include:
- People who were exposed to someone with confirmed monkeypox and do not have symptoms.
- People who attended an event/venue where there was high risk of exposure to someone with confirmed monkeypox.
- Gay or bisexual men and transgender persons who are on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
- Gay or bisexual men and transgender people who attended saunas, bathhouses, sex clubs, circuit parties or sex parties where they had anonymous sex or sex with multiple partners.
- Gay or bisexual men and transgender people with a diagnosis of gonorrhea or early syphilis within the past 12 months.
- New: Gay or bisexual men and transgender people 18 years of age and older who had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days including engaging in survival and/or transactional sex (e.g., sex in exchange for shelter, food and other goods and needs).
- New: Residents who are immunocompromised, including those with advanced or uncontrolled HIV, who may be at high risk for severe disease.
Those seeking vaccination against monkeypox can sign up through the City’s pre-registration system to join a waitlist. As of Aug. 2, there were 2,564 Long Beach residents signed up for the vaccination, according to Public Affairs Officer Jennifer Rice Epstein.
Long Beach announced the first confirmed presumptive case of monkeypox on July 16. As of Wednesday, there have been 20 confirmed and probable cases in the city.
According to a statement from the city, 620 people have been vaccinated as of Aug. 2, while the number is expected to rise to at least 1,400.
Residents are encouraged to visit longbeach.gov/monkeypox for up-to-date facts on monkeypox, and to avoid misinformation. Updates, tips and notices will be published on the health department’s social media pages @LBHealthDept.
thanks for info