Information on the monkeypox outbreak has been changing quickly. Some Maryland residents have hit snags in getting the vaccine. However, public health officials are optimistic about how the outbreak is being contained. WYPR health reporter Scott Maucione joined Nathan Sterner to learn about the outbreak which included reporting from The Baltimore Banner’s Hallie Miller.
Sterner:
What are we hearing from the experts at the Maryland Health Department?
Maucione:
I recently spoke with Peter DeMartino, director of Maryland’s Infectious Disease and Health Services Bureau, who told me cases are trending in the right direction. It seems to be too early to tell exactly if Maryland is getting a handle on the outbreak, but DeMartino said they are feeling good about the current numbers.
Since the outbreak started we’ve seen 662 people diagnosed with the disease and nearly 6,500 get vaccinated.
Sterner:
What obstacles have been faced by people trying to get the vaccine?
Maucione:
What we found is, it’s been pretty confusing for some people and tough to find vaccines, however that may be changing. The CDC approved the use of intradermal shots, that’s shots that only go in the skin and not muscle. Those shots allow medical professionals to get five times the doses out of vials.
Since then, Maryland has opened vaccination eligibility to people who are at high risk. That’s men who have sex with men, the immunocompromised and people with multiple sex partners. Previously you could only get vaccinated if you were potentially exposed to the disease.
However, we learned that people trying to get the vaccine have said it’s been a frustrating process. My Baltimore Banner colleague, Hallie Miller, spoke to someone named Jack Feng about his experience.
Miller:
Jack hadn't been vaccinated in Baltimore, despite that being where he lives and works. In fact, he went to New York to get a vaccine in August, when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to get one closer to home. And then he ended up getting his second dose in Los Angeles during a trip he had already had scheduled. So if you think about that, it was really strange to hear because it sounded from the outset, like the systems in place in Baltimore, animus state were failing people like Jack who wanted to protect themselves against monkeypox.
Sterner:
So is this a Maryland issue specifically…. or a national issue?
It’s a little hard to say. Miller compared Maryland’s response to Washington D.C.’s and the difference was pretty staggering. D.C. has about three times more people vaccinated at 18,000 people. But Maryland public officials say it’s like comparing apples and oranges. I’ll let Hallie Miller explain.
Miller:
Maryland operates with one state health department and 24 local health departments, all of which essentially run autonomously, they each have a health officer or health commissioner, that can make decision. Whereas in DC, they really only have one health department. And it's super centralized. And they don't have 24 different counties with different the geographical makeups and histories of equity issues. So getting vaccinated in DC probably was a little bit more simple.
Maucione:
DC was also not as strict about who was eligible for the vaccine. It’s also important to note that DC had higher rates of infection and has a sizeable LGBTQ community.
Sterner:
Have there been any concerns about Maryland’s response?
Maucione:
There have. We’ve seen some state legislators talking about the slow rollout of the vaccine. Miller also said that the Baltimore officials expressed frustration with funding model.
The city didn’t have defined funding appropriated for this crisis. So officials had to pivot and find money within its budget to address it.
But Maryland’s lead infectious disease expert told me things have improved and at this point vaccines should be available for any high risk person in any area of the state.
Sterner:
WYPR health reporter Scott Maucione. You can also read Hallie Miller’s article at The Baltimore Banner.
