NYC's Mpox Outbreak Accelerates in 2024

New York City's Deputy Commissioner, Division of Disease Control, Celia Quinn, MD, MPH, issued a statement confirming that mpox continues circulating in the city.

As of May 3, 2024, Health Advisory #12 reported the overall number of mpox cases is low compared to the 2022 outbreak. For most of 2023, the NYC averaged about 2 to 20 monthly cases.

Since October, there has been an average of 36 monthly cases, with a peak count of 51 in January 2024.

Of the 256 cases from October 2023 through April 15, 2024:

• 73% (188) were not vaccinated or had received only one dose,
• 94% were among men,
• 3.9% (10) of the infected people were hospitalized,
• Most were Black or Hispanic and between the ages of 25-44.

NYC confirmed the commercialization of the U.S. FDA-approved JYNNEOS® Mpox Smallpox vaccine is underway. As of May 2024, healthcare providers can order JYNNEOS through their distribution partners to make it available for at-risk individuals at local pharmacies.

Mpox is a contagious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NYC continue to report only Clade II mpox cases in 2024.

Last week, the U.S. Government Accountability Office noted in a May 2, 2024 report that the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) wasn't clear on how and from whom to request mpox supplies, including causing confusion and delays in mpox vaccine deliveries. 

About 30% of U.S. jurisdictions during the mpox outbreak said the process for requesting SNS inventory did not follow written guidelines.