AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin and Travis County leaders declared a joint emergency order in response to the growing number of monkeypox cases locally.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes made the announcement Tuesday.
“We’re making sure that our community knows that this is a serious situation,” Adler said.
With many major events on the horizon — Austin Pride, Texas football games and Austin City Limits —the goal of these orders are to bring awareness about this fast-spreading virus.
On July 21st, there were just 29 total cases of monkeypox cases in Travis County.
As of Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases had risen to 68 — all of which are men.
According to Austin Public Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes, monkeypox mainly spreads through close contact.
“Prolonged contact is defined as greater than three hours,” she said.
However, Dr. Walkes also mentions that skin-to-skin contact with scabs or rashes could spread the virus quicker.
“We’re concerned about all the festivals that we’re going to be looking forward to in the coming weeks and months,” she said.
The local health authority said so far the Austin area has received a little more than 3,000 doses of the vaccine, JYNNEOS. The vaccine is given in a two-dose series, so cut that number in half when considering how many folks will actually get shots in arms.
“I think we’ve done a really good job of giving out the vaccines they’ve given us and are waiting on, frankly, more to come,” Brown said in a commissioners meeting prior to the announcement. He noted the state has sent thousands less vaccines than have been requested as vaccines are in short supply nationally.
“By the end of the week, we’ll be down to approximately 100 courses or 200 doses of the vaccine,” Dr. Walkes said.
County and city leaders requested more resources from the state as a part of that order and hope it will raise awareness about the virus.
“We need the federal government to do everything we can to increase availability of medicine and vaccine,” Adler concluded.
As it stands right now, only the following people are eligible to be vaccinated, according to APH:
- You have made intimate, prolonged contact with someone who has a confirmed case of monkeypox
- You have had multiple sexual partners in the past 14 days in an area where monkeypox is known to be spreading, Austin included
Even with strict eligibility requirements set by the state of Texas and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, APH still is not going to be able to vaccinate everyone in that high-risk criteria.
The local health authority said so far the Austin area has received a little more than 3,000 doses of the vaccine, JYNNEOS. The vaccine is given in a two-dose series, so cut that number in half when considering how many folks will actually get shots in arms.
