New York City declared an end to its mpox outbreak Wednesday, crediting a successful vaccination campaign and mitigation efforts with keeping transmission very low for two straight months, according to the health department.
The city reported more than 3,800 cases of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, between May 2022 and December 2022, according to its disease outbreak summary. At least two deaths were also reported. Cases peaked around 70 a day and fell to a rolling average of zero through most of last month, health officials say.
People who identify as LGBQ+ accounted for a majority of New York City cases. Nearly 35% of patients were Latino; 27% were Black; 22.4% were white and 3.6% identified as Asian American and Pacific Islander.
As was the case with COVID, New York City was the epicenter of the U.S. mpox outbreak earlier in the spring. Since May, more than 155,000 doses of the mpox vaccine were administered in the five boroughs alone, which exceeds the amount administered in 49 U.S. States. Only California (289,000-plus) administered more doses than New York City.
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Although NYC declared an end to the outbreak, mpox is still being transmitted at low levels throughout the city. Health officials remind providers they should continue to test symptomatic patients and that people should get vaccinated.
The U.S. public health mpox emergency expired on Tuesday.
