New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is not monkeying around when it comes to monkeypox ... she just declared a disaster emergency for the entire state to curb the growing spread of the disease.
I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront the monkeypox outbreak.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) July 30, 2022
This Executive Order enables us to respond more swiftly, and allows health care professionals to take additional steps that will help get more New Yorkers vaccinated.
On Friday night, Hochul tweeted the announcement, highlighting that 1 in 4 monkeypox cases in the U.S. originate in New York so, therefore, she wants to generate a faster response to combat the virus and get more people vaccinated.
Her announcement comes just one day after the New York State Commissioner of Health called monkeypox an “imminent threat to public health.”
Although the viral disease is almost never fatal, it can spread across the body, forming rashes and lesions on extremities and genitals.
New York and California are at the top of the list of states with the most recorded cases of monkeypox ... New York has 1,345 cases and California is second with 799, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hochul's executive order allows for EMS personnel, pharmacists, midwives, physicians and certified nurse practitioners to administer vaccinations.
The governor said Thursday that New York was stocking up on monkeypox vaccines with an influx of 110,000 additional doses from the feds, bolstering its supply to 170,000.