As monkeypox cases climb and vaccine is in short supply, some Texas cities declare an emergency

Workers outside of DC Health’s first monkeypox vaccination clinic, which was administering the first Jynneos vaccine doses distributed in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 2022. (Credit: REUTERS/Gavino Garay)

Dallas and Austin officials have declared monkeypox a public health emergency — bids both to get in line for federal funding and to send a message to residents that the virus is serious and painful and they should take precautionary measures while the vaccine is in short supply.

“As we’re running out of vaccine and medications, we want to engage our community and ask them to help us stem the tide, the spread of the disease,” Austin-Travis County Medical Director/Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said on Tuesday. “And allow us the time to retool and refuel, as it were, and get what we need to treat people and to vaccinate people who are exposed to the virus."