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Mayor Eric Adams Statement on Biden Administration Declaring Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency

August 5, 2022

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams today applauded the Biden administration for declaring monkeypox a public health emergency and released the following statement: 

“As monkeypox continues to spread throughout New York City and the country, I’m grateful to President Biden and HHS Secretary Becerra for declaring a public health emergency today. We continue to be the epicenter of this outbreak, with over 25 percent of cases nationally and approximately 150,000 New Yorkers who we estimate to be currently at risk for exposure. New York City will continue to get vaccines and treatment into the hands and arms of New Yorkers as quickly and equitably as possible, and I’m hopeful this declaration will allow us to do so even faster. I urge the federal government to invoke the Defense Production Act to ensure we have the necessary quantity of vaccines to fulfill both doses of this two-dose series and continue cutting the red tape to make treatment and testing more accessible for all. This is an important step that recognizes the urgency and scale of the crisis, and I look forward to working with the president and all our federal and state partners to keep New Yorkers safe and healthy.”  

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