What to know about monkeypox in Sacramento as Biden administration declares emergency
The Biden administration on Thursday declared the U.S. monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, joining California, two other states and some of the country’s most populous cities and counties in making that designation as infection totals spike.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Wednesday had recorded 6,617 probable and confirmed cases of the virus nationwide. The governors of New York, California and Illinois – the three states reported by the CDC with the most cases – have declared statewide public health emergencies.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made the declaration Monday, a move his office said would free up resources and boost the state’s vaccination efforts.
The federal emergency declaration aims to ramp up production and distribution of monkeypox vaccine, the supply of which is currently very scarce.
Local governments that have recently declared the virus an emergency include New York City, San Francisco and San Diego County.
Sacramento County, which in late May became California’s first to detect a confirmed monkeypox case, had not as of Thursday declared a local health emergency for monkeypox.
The county as of Thursday had tallied 64 cases among residents, an increase of 12 infections since Monday.
Placer County this week recorded its second probable or confirmed monkeypox case, according to the state health department, after the county reported its first case July 27.
Sacramento County adds third monkeypox vaccine clinic
Sacramento County as of this week had received 3,198 doses of the two-dose monkeypox vaccine, administering about 950 through the county health office while distributing most of the remaining doses to medical providers in the area, officials said in an update this week to the county’s monkeypox website.
Local health officials said they expect their next delivery, of 1,530 doses, within the next week.
Sunburst Projects, a local nonprofit centered on the HIV-positive community, will offer vaccinations on an appointment-only basis from noon to 3 p.m. next Wednesday. Sunburst Projects is located at 2143 Hurley Way in Arden Arcade.
Appointments can be made by phone at 916-440-0889.
The Sacramento LGBT Community Center, at 1015 20th Street in midtown’s Lavender Heights neighborhood, will host another walk-up monkeypox vaccine clinic Monday.
The clinic is slated for noon to 4 p.m. while supplies last. This week’s clinic at the center exhausted its allocation in the first 30 minutes, the LGBT Community Center said in a Facebook post, as demand far outstripped supply.
Pucci’s Pharmacy, at 3257 Folsom Blvd. in East Sacramento, also continues to offer the monkeypox vaccine by appointment only. Appointments can be made through the pharmacy’s website.
More than 109,000 doses have been allocated across California: 66,189 from the state to county health offices, excluding Los Angeles, which receives its own allocations from the CDC and had received 43,282 doses through Monday.
Placer County has received a smaller allocation of just 171 doses to date, though its second allocation – after the county’s first case discovery – nearly sextupled its initial allotment of 25 doses.
Latest California monkeypox numbers
Of the 1,135 cases reported statewide as of Tuesday, only 14 hospitalizations have been confirmed, according to the California Department of Public Health. However, CDPH said hospitalization status was missing or unknown for more than half the state’s cases.
No deaths from monkeypox have been reported in California.
San Francisco, which declared its emergency last week, had recorded 397 probable and confirmed monkeypox cases as of Tuesday, which is about 45 cases per 100,000 residents.
By comparison, Los Angeles County has reported about five cases per 100,000, Sacramento County has seen four per 100,000 and San Diego County has tallied fewer than two per 100,000, according to each county’s public health office.
The vast majority of monkeypox cases found in California, about 98%, have been in gay or bisexual men who are cisgender, according to the first rounds of demographic data released by CDPH. Handfuls of cases have been detected among transgender men, cisgender women, transgender women and nonbinary Californians. At least 16 cases have come in heterosexual Californians, state health data show.
How is monkeypox spread?
Spread of monkeypox is linked to prolonged, skin-to-skin exposure, according to experts.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. The patient typically develops a rash, often beginning on the face and spreading to other parts of the body, normally about one to three days after fever.
The incubation period is typically one to two weeks but can range up to three weeks, and the illness typically lasts two to four weeks, according to a county news release.
Doctors and public health officials urge residents to practice safe sex. These practices may include abstaining from sex, practicing monogamy and using condoms during sex to limit exposure to the virus.
Who should get a vaccine?
Sacramento County recommends that men who have sex with men and transgender people who meet one or more of these factors should get vaccinated:
▪ Tested positive for a sexually transmitted infection in the last two months
▪ Had more than two sexual partners in the past three weeks
▪ Visited or worked at a commercial sex venue in the last three weeks
▪ Had anonymous sex — which are encounters when parties do not know each others’ identities — in the last three weeks
▪ Engaged in sex work in the past three weeks
Those who meet one or more of the above criteria are eligible for vaccination at Sacramento’s clinics.
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 1:55 PM.
