City Council reveals 'first-in-the-nation' legislation combatting monkeypox spread

The New York City Council ’s LGBTQ+ Caucus met to reveal what they say is a first-in-the-nation legislative package focused on combating the monkeypox outbreak.
The legislative package includes three bills that mention creating education campaigns and a proposal to make the vaccine more accessible to communities most at risk of getting the virus, like people in homeless shelters and jails.
It would also require the Health Department to create a permanent vaccine portal and publish up-to-date data on the number of infections, tests and vaccines in each borough.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say more than 10,000 positive cases of the virus have been confirmed nationwide -- and more than 2,000 of those cases are in New York.
The caucus is also asking the federal government for more vaccines, given that New York has the highest reported number of cases but only received 12% doses from the federal government.
The Biden administration recently announced actions to increase vaccine supply, which includes increasing the number of vaccine doses available by up to five times through an alternative dosing regimen.