US struggles to meet monkeypox vaccine demand

The United States, which is forecasting an increase in monkeypox cases in the coming weeks, does not currently have enough vaccines to meet demand, a top health official said.

Concern has grown especially in New York, the epicentre of the US outbreak of the virus, with nearly 390 cases counted as of July 14. The United States has seen a total of 1,470 cases.

The illness is characterised by lesions on the skin -- which can appear on the genitals or the mouth  -- and is often accompanied by fever, sore throat and pain in the lymph nodes. It usually clears up on its own but can be extremely painful.

"I want to acknowledge that at this time the demand for vaccines from jurisdictions is higher than our current available supply," Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said. "And we know that this is frustrating."

"We don't yet have all the vaccines that we would like at this moment," she told reporters during a press conference, warning that authorities "anticipate an increase in cases in the coming weeks."

New York public health authorities were forced to apologise earlier this week when a government website became overwhelmed as thousands tried to log on to book vaccine appointments at once. 

"Vaccine supply is extremely limited, extremely constrained, all across this country, and especially here in New York," the head of the city's public health department Ashwin Vasan said.