SELECT COMMITTEE ON MONKEY POX
WILL COME TO ORDER. I WANT TO
THANK OUR MEMBERS FOR BEING HERE
TODAY. WE'RE JOINED BY SENATOR
PANTS AND HER LAYERED SENATOR
MITCHELL BOGGS CENTER ALLEN
CENTER. EGGMAN WILL BE JOINED BY
SEVERAL OTHER MEMBERS OF THE
COURSE OF HEARING. I WANT TO
THANK MY STAFF IN PARTICULAR FOR
WORKING VERY HARD TO PUT THIS
HEARING TOGETHER TODAY. UM, WE
CONTINUE TO TAKE SOME
PRECAUTIONS TO MANAGING ONGOING
COVID 19 RISKS. THE SENATE
CONTINUES TO WELCOME THE PUBLIC
AND HAS PROVIDED ACCESS TO BOTH
IN PERSON AND TELECONFERENCE
PARTICIPATION FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
FOR INDIVIDUALS WISHING TO
PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, AND WE
WILL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT AFTER
OUR PANEL PRESENTATIONS THEY CAN
DO SO VIA TELECONFERENCE SERVICE
WITH THE PARTICIPANT TOLL FREE
NUMBER AND ACCESS CODE, WHICH IS
POSTED ON OUR COMMITTEE WEBSITE.
I'LL STATE THAT NUMBER NOW.
PARTICIPANT NUMBER IS 8772268163
. AND THE ACCESS CODE IS 736 TO
833. WE WILL, AS ALWAYS
MAINTAINED THE QUORUM. ANY
INDIVIDUAL WHO IS DISRUPTIVE MAY
BE REMOVED FROM THE REMOVED
REMOTE MEETING SERVICE OR HAVE
THEIR CONNECTIONS MUTED. UM
TODAY WE HAVE. WE'LL BE HEARING
FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT PANELS OF
WITNESSES UNDER CURRENT SENATE
RULES FOR THIS KIND OF HEARING
ALL OF OUR POWER PANEL WITNESSES
WILL BE REMOTE. THEY WILL NOT BE
HERE, SO WE'LL BE HEARING FROM
THEM REMOTELY, UM, AND FOR ANY
REMOTE PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE MUTE
YOUR PHONES OR YOUR COMPUTER'S
WHEN YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING. SO
THAT WE CAN AVOID ACOUSTIC
FEEDBACK. I ALSO ASKED THAT FOR
PANELISTS EVERY TIME YOU WISH TO
BE RECOGNIZED, USE THE RAISE
YOUR HAND FEATURE ON THE
APPLICATION. UM AH. OKAY, UM. WE
WILL HEAR ALL THREE OF OUR
PANELS AND THEN AFTERWARDS TAKE
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND WE WILL NOT
BE DOING PUBLIC COMMENT
SEPARATELY UNDER EACH PANEL. UM
PANELISTS ASKING IF YOU COULD
TRY TO LIMIT YOUR TESTIMONY TO
ABOUT 5 TO 6 MINUTES. THAT WOULD
BE GREAT SO THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH
TIME FOR MEMBER QUESTIONS AND
FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE END.
SO UM, COLLEAGUES. I WANT TO
BEGIN WITH SOME INTRODUCTORY
REMARKS, UM, AFTER OVER TWO
YEARS OF THE GLOBAL COVID 19
PANDEMIC, WE FACE ANOTHER
INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAK THIS
TIME, MONKEYPOX, UM, CASES OF
MONKEYPOX, WHICH IS A CLOSE BUT
THANKFULLY LESS SEVERE RELATIVE
OF SMALLPOX HAVE BEEN GOING
RAPIDLY HERE AND OTHER PARTS OF
THE WORLD OVER THE LAST FEW
MONTHS. IF NOT CONTAINED,
QUICKLY, MONKEYPOX COULD
CIRCULATE EVEN MORE BROADLY AND
BECOME ENDEMIC AND OUR
POPULATION. WHAT'S FRUSTRATING
IS THAT, UNLIKE COVID, 19, WHICH
IS A BRAND NEW VIRUS THAT WE HAD
NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND KNEW
ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT, UM, WITH
MONKEYPOX. WE DO KNOW ABOUT IT.
IT'S BEEN AROUND FOR ALMOST 70
YEARS OVER 50 YEARS, INFECTING
HUMANS. AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A
VACCINE AND WE HAVE AN EFFECTIVE
TREATMENT FOR IT. SO YOU WOULD
THINK THAT WOULD BE A RECIPE FOR
VERY QUICKLY CONTROLLING AN
OUTBREAK. UNFORTUNATELY DUE TO
SOME VERY SEVERE PUBLIC HEALTH
FAILURES OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS
AND THREE DIFFERENT PRESIDENTIAL
ADMINISTRATIONS THAT HAS NOT
HAPPENED AND WE HAVE SHOT
OURSELVES. IN THE FOOT. UM AS
NOTED, SCIENTISTS IDENTIFIED THE
FIRST HUMAN CASE OF MONKEYPOX
OVER 50 YEARS AGO IN CENTRAL AND
WEST AFRICA. IT'S BEEN
CIRCULATING EVER SINCE STARTING
IN 2017. IN NIGERIA, HEALTH
WORKERS BEGAN TO OBSERVE HUMAN
TO HUMAN TRANSMISSION,
PARTICULARLY RELATED TO SEX.
THEY TRIED TO SOUND THE ALARM,
BUT NEITHER THE NEITHER THE
NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT NOR GLOBAL
HEALTH OF LEADERS LISTENED. UM
EXPERTS REPEATEDLY WARNED US
THAT IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF
TIME BEFORE MONKEYPOX SPREAD
BEYOND WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
AND THEIR PREDICTIONS AS OFTEN
THE CASE CAME TO BE TRUE. THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, HOWEVER, DID
NOT TAKE THE PRECAUTIONS NEEDED
FOR THAT INEVITABLE SPREAD. UM
THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
FUNDED A MONKEY POX VACCINE,
ACTUALLY, A SMALLPOX VACCINE
THAT IS EFFECTIVE IN MONKEY POX.
A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, ABOUT A
BILLION DOLLARS WAS INVESTED IN
THAT VACCINE. IT WAS APPROVED BY
THE FDA FOR MONKEY POX IN 2019.
AND YET OVER TIME, THE US
ALLOWED ITS STOCKPILE OF MORE
THAN 20 MILLION DOSES OF THIS
HIGHLY EFFECTIVE VACCINE TO
EXPIRE AND DID NOT REPLACE THOSE
DOSES. IN ADDITION, WHEN THIS
OUTBREAK STARTED IN THE SPRING,
THE U. S GOVERNMENT DID NOT HAVE
ANY SENSE OF URGENCY IN ORDERING
MORE DOSES. UM AND ALSO ALLOWED
SOME A NUMBER OF DOSES TO BE
DIVERTED TO EUROPE INSTEAD OF
THE UNITED STATES, SO THAT HAS
HELPED FUEL THE EXTREME VACCINE
SHORTAGE THAT WE HAVE TODAY. UM
IN ADDITION, UM AND I WILL SAY
THIS AS SOMEONE WHO REPRESENTS
SAN FRANCISCO AND SOMEONE WHO,
LIKE SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAS
BEEN VERY CLOSE TO THE HIV
PANDEMIC FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
UM IT IS VERY TRAUMATIC FOR MANY
OF MY COMMUNITY TO SEE YET
ANOTHER VIRUS. AH DRAMATICALLY
IMPACTING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY
AND ONCE AGAIN SEEING A VIRUS
THAT DRAMATICALLY OVERWHELMINGLY
IS CURRENTLY IMPACTING OUR
COMMUNITY. UH AND HAVING YET
ANOTHER PUBLIC HEALTH FAILURE IN
THE 19 EIGHTIES AT PUBLIC HEALTH
FAILURE WAS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
THAT WAS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY
IGNORING HIV, PRETENDING IT
DIDN'T EXIST. MAKING JOKES ABOUT
GAY MEN GETTING SICK AND DYING.
AND DOING NOTHING AS WE HAD A
MASS DIE OFF OF GAY MEN. AH!
THANK GOD THAT MONKEY POX IS NOT
DEADLY LIKE HIV, BUT PEOPLE ARE
SUFFERING AND YOU WILL HEAR
TODAY ABOUT THE EXTREME PAIN,
JUST EXCRUCIATING PAIN THAT THIS
VIRUS CAUSES NOT EVERYONE,
THANKFULLY, BUT MANY OF THE
PEOPLE WHO ARE INFECTED WITH IT,
AND SO, UH, WE NEED TO TURN THIS
AROUND. WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO
PUSH HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR
STATE, FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL
PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES ARE
DIRECTING THE RESOURCES WHERE
THEY'RE NEEDED MOST AND RAPIDLY
EXPANDING SUPPORT FOR
VACCINATION TESTING AND
TREATMENT. TOO SLOW AND
HOPEFULLY STOP THIS SPREAD. WE
ALSO NEED TO WHILE WE MUST
ACKNOWLEDGE, UH THAT THIS
OUTBREAK IS OVERWHELMINGLY
IMPACTING GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN,
OVERWHELMINGLY LATINO GAY MEN
AND WHITE GAY MEN, BUT OTHERS AS
WELL. UM AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT,
BUT IN A WAY, THAT IS NOT, UM,
ATTACKING, STIGMATIZING, BLAMING
THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING SICK
AND WE'RE ALREADY SEEING
UNFORTUNATELY, SOME OF THAT
BECAUSE WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE
IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS
OUTBREAK IS GOING TO REMAIN
WITHIN THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY.
THERE WAS NOTHING ABOUT THIS
VIRUS THAT ENSURES THAT IT'S
ONLY GOING TO. IN FACT, GAY AND
BISEXUAL MEN BUT AT THE MOMENT
THAT HE IS BEING IMPACTED, AND
THAT'S WHERE THE RESOURCES NEED
TO GO. UM WE NOW HAVE STATES OF
EMERGENCIES AT THE FEDERAL
LEVEL. AT THE STATE LEVEL AND IN
VARIOUS CITIES, INCLUDING SAN
FRANCISCO AND L. A UM AND, UH
AND THAT IS A GOOD THING AND I
WANT TO THANK WE'VE HAD FEDERAL
FAILURES HERE, BUT I REALLY DO
WANT TO THANK SPEAKER PELOSI AND
OUR TWO U. S SENATORS DIANNE
FEINSTEIN, ALEX PADILLA, WHO
HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY OCAL AND
PUSHING FOR A BETTER RESPONSE.
WE NEED ACTION FROM THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT BOTH TO EXPAND
VACCINE SUPPLIES. IN SAN
FRANCISCO. HONESTLY IT'S A
LITTLE BIT LIKE THE HUNGER GAMES
WHEN IT COMES TO ACT ACCESSING
VACCINATION. IT IS HEARTBREAKING
AT SAN FRANCISCO GENERAL
HOSPITAL, WHERE THE CLINIC WILL
OPEN FOR A FEW DAYS OR A WEEK
AND THEN SHUT DOWN BECAUSE IT
RUNS OUT AND THEN WHEN IT OPENS
UP AGAIN, THERE WILL BE A LINE
345 BLOCKS LONG. PEOPLE WILL
SHOW UP AT TWO OR THREE IN THE
MORNING. DESPERATE TO GET A
VACCINE AND THEY MAY OR MAY NOT
GET IT. UM, THE SAN FRANCISCO
AIDS FOUNDATION HAS, UH, A WAIT
LIST THAT IS SO MASSIVE THAT AT
SOME POINT PEOPLE QUESTIONS
SHOULD I EVEN PUT MYSELF ON THAT
WEIGHTLESS? IT'S JUST NOT AN
ACCEPTABLE WAY TO DO PUBLIC
HEALTH. WE ALSO NEED THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT. IN THE FDA IN
PARTICULAR, WITH THE GRANT
EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION FOR
THE ANTIVIRAL DRUG EPOCHS THAT,
ACCORDING TO EVERY TREATING
PHYSICIAN I'VE SPOKEN TO IS
HIGHLY EFFECTIVE IN PUTTING AN
END TO THE SYMPTOMS AND THAT OF
THIS INFECTION, REDUCING THE
PAIN MORE QUICKLY. BUT BECAUSE
HE BOXES BEEN APPROVED FOR
SMALLPOX, BUT NOT FOR MONKEYPOX
, UM AS A KAISER EMERGENCY ROOM
PHYSICIAN TOLD ME ON SUNDAY
NIGHT FOR EACH PATIENT THAT
COMES INTO THE ER, TELLING HIM
THAT WHEN THEY DEFECATE, IT'S
LIKE HOT IRON BEING PLACED UP
HIS RECTUM. UM HE HAS TO SPEND
THIS DOCTOR TWO HOURS. FILLING
OUT PAPERWORK AND JUMPING
THROUGH HOOPS WITH THE CDC TO
GET PERMISSION TO GIVE THESE
THESE PILLS TO THE PERSON
SUFFERING, AND IT COULD TAKE
DAYS. THE FDA NEEDS TO PUT AN
END TO THAT AND GRANT EMERGENCY
USE AUTHORIZATION. WE NEED MORE
TESTING. WE KNOW RIGHT NOW. THE
ONLY TESTED THE FDA HAS APPROVED
IS SWABBING THE LESIONS. FROM
MONKEY POX, SO IF SOMEONE
DOESN'T HAVE LESIONS OR IF THE
TEST IS DONE INCORRECTLY, THEIR
TESTS MAY BE FALSELY NEGATIVE.
THERE ARE NEW TESTS COMING OUT,
AND WE NEED A SENSE OF URGENCY
FROM THE FDA AND EVALUATING AND
APPROVING THOSE TESTS. UM AND OF
COURSE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE
WE'RE PROTECTING PEOPLE WHO HAVE
MONKEY POX AND MAKING SURE THAT
THEY DO NOT LOSE THEIR HOMES
BECAUSE OF AN INABILITY TO WORK
AS WELL HERE TODAY, YOU MIGHT
HAVE TO ISOLATE FOR THREE OR
FOUR WEEKS. IF YOU GET MONKEY
POX AND FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T
WORK FROM HOME THEY NEED TO HAVE
PAID SICK LEAVE, SO THERE IS SO
MUCH WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO. WE
HAVE AMAZING PANELS TODAY WE'RE
GOING TO HEAR FROM STATE AND
LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS
FROM A TREATING PHYSICIAN FROM
SEVERAL SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE
RECOVERED FROM MONKEY POX, AS
WELL AS COMMUNITY HEALTH
ADVOCATES. SO BEFORE WE BEGIN, I
WANT TO JUST GIVE MY COLLEAGUES
AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE REMARKS,
SENATOR LAIRD THANK YOU VERY
MUCH, MR CHAIR, AND I WOULD LIKE
TO THANK THE PRO TEM FOR
ESTABLISHING THIS SELECT
COMMITTEE AND ALSO MY COLLEAGUE
FROM SAN FRANCISCO FOR SO
DOGGEDLY PURSUING ANSWERS IN
CLARITY ON ADDRESSING THIS
PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS, HAVING A
CLEAR OPEN PUBLIC DIALOGUE ABOUT
MONKEYPOX, UH, ITS CAUSES WAYS
OF PREVENTION NEEDS AND BARRIERS
TO VACCINATION AND TREATMENT AND
ITS OVERALL IMPACT ON THE
COMMUNITY ALWAYS CRUCIAL IN
HEADING OFF A GREATER CRISIS.
THIS. AS SOMEONE WHO ENTERED
PUBLIC SERVICE AS THE HIV.
CRISIS BEGAN IN THE EARLY 19
EIGHTIES, AND IT WAS A FOUNDER
AND LATER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
AN AGE SERVICE AGENCY. DURING
THE HEIGHT OF THAT EPIDEMIC, I
CAN SAY WITH CERTAINTY THAT THE
MORE WE TALK ABOUT THIS IN AN
OPEN, HONEST WAY, THE SHORTER
THE CRISIS WILL BE THERE WAS A
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL IN THE
FIRST YEARS OF THE HIV CRISIS IN
WHICH THEY SAID DON'T WORRY. IT
HASN'T REACHED THE GENERAL
PUBLIC. THAT WAS LITERALLY DEAD
WRONG, AND IT WAS IMPLYING THAT
PEOPLE IT HAD REACHED WERE
CHOPPED LIVER AND DIDN'T VALUE
THEM. AH AND WE REALLY FOUND
THAT THERE WAS A SPREAD INTO
MANY DIFFERENT POPULATION GROUPS
, AND I BELIEVE THE SAME
PRINCIPLE APPLIES HERE. AND
CERTAINLY WE'RE STARTING TO SEE
ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE OF THAT NOW
AND I DID HAVE A PUBLIC HEALTH
OFFICER IN A COUNTY IN MY
DISTRICT MAKE A SIMILAR COMMENT
ABOUT THE GENERAL POPULATION
THIS LAST WEEK AND FOUND IT
IMPORTANT TO PUSH BACK ON THAT
IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE DID 30
YEARS AGO. IN ANOTHER TROUBLING
PARALLEL TO THE HIV CRISIS,
WHERE POTENTIALLY LIFESAVING
DRUGS WERE BEING HELD UP. AND BY
THE FDA BECAUSE OF BUREAUCRATIC
RED TAPE. AS THE CHAIR SAID, WE
HAVE LEARNED THAT AN EFFECTIVE
TREATMENT FOR MONKEY POX CALLED
TEA PACKS IS BEING HELD UP. THE
FDA SO QUICKLY FORGOTTEN ACT UP
AND THE DIE INS THAT WERE HELD
ON THEIR FRONT STEPS AND THE
CLOSURES OF BRIDGES AND FREEWAYS
BY OUTRAGED AND TERRIFIED AIDS
PATIENTS. I FULLY EXPECT THIS
SELECT COMMITTEE WILL CONSIDER
WEIGHING IN STRONGLY WITH THE
FDA TO ENSURE THAT THE SAME
MISTAKE ISN'T BEING MADE AGAIN.
AND A CONSTANT FOCUS BY SOMEONE
SEX AND THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY
OVERLOOKS MANY OTHER POINTS OF
CONTACT, WHETHER IT'S
TRANSMISSION BY TOUCHING OBJECTS
, FABRICS AND SURFACES THAT WERE
USED BY SOMEONE WITH MONKEYPOX.
WHAT MONKEYPOX IS NOT FATAL. IT
CAUSES RASHES AND LESIONS THAT
EXTREMELY PAINFUL. AND LECTURING
A COMMUNITY ABOUT SEX CERTAINLY
DID LITTLE TO SLOW THE HIV
CRISIS. AND THE SAME PRINCIPLE
APPLIES HERE. WHAT WE KNOW WHEN
WORK IS VACCINATION, TESTING AND
EDUCATION, AND THAT SHOULD BE
OUR FOCUS. THE REAL MIRACLE HERE
IS THAT WE HAVE A PUBLIC HEALTH
SYSTEM HAT IS BETTER ABLE TO
EDUCATE. AH AND TRACK CASES.
PLUS WE ACTUALLY HAVE A HIGHLY
EFFECTIVE TRIED AND TRUE
VACCINE. AND PLUS IF THE FDA
ACTS A TREATMENT SO WE SHOULD
TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT AND
STOP THIS VIRUS IN ITS TRACKS
AND HELP THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING
WITH AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT.
LET'S TAKE AWAY THE STIGMA OF
THIS DECEIT DISEASE AND LET'S
TALK ABOUT THE CLEAR REALITIES
OF IT. AND LET'S TAKE THE
APPROPRIATE STEPS IN A VERY
EARLY STAGE TO STOP IT, AND I'LL
BE CLEAR TO NOT PROPERLY ACT
ONLY BROADENS THE RISK MAKES THE
STIGMA WORSE AND UNNECESSARILY
DISRUPTS PEOPLE'S LIVES. AND SO
I WORK FORWARD. TO THIS
AMBITIOUS HEARING THAT HAS BEEN
ORGANIZED BY THE CHAIR. THANK
YOU, SENATOR, SENATOR PAM. THANK
YOU SO MUCH CHAIR, WIENER. AND
FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANTED TO
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR
PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERSHIP. NOT
ONLY OF COURSE ON THIS ISSUE
ABOUT SO MANY OTHER ISSUES EVEN
PRIOR TO YOU COMING TO
LEGISLATURES. SO THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE
THE PRO TEM AS WELL FOR HER
LEADERSHIP AS WELL AND
ESTABLISHING THE SELECT
COMMITTEE BECAUSE THEY JUST WANT
BRIEFLY SAY IS, IS THAT
UNFORTUNATELY, UH, OUTBREAKS OF
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES IS NOT UM
RARE. IT'S ACTUALLY FAIRLY
COMMON. IN FACT, WHEN I THINK
ABOUT IT BEFORE NEARLY BEFORE I
GOT INTO THE LEGISLATURE. WE HAD
PROTESTERS OUTBREAK AFFECTED
HUNDREDS OF INFANTS ACTUALLY
THINK 10 DIED. THAT WAS, UM, YOU
KNOW, WE'VE HAD SINCE I'VE BEEN
IN THE LEGISLATURE FOR LAST 12
YEARS WE'VE HAD OUTBREAKS OF
MEASLES. WE'VE HAD OUTBREAKS OF
PRO TESTES WE'VE HAD ZIKA. WE'VE
HAD CONCERNS ABOUT EBOLA,
ALTHOUGH THERE'S NO ACTUAL CASES
. OF COURSE WE HAVE COVID. AND
NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MONKEY
POX AS WELL. AND ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT, UM I THINK PEOPLE
NEED TO REMEMBER WHEN IT COMES
TO CONTAGIOUS DISEASES IS WHAT I
CALL EXPONENTIAL SPREAD. SO AS I
THINK IT WAS NOTED BY THE CHAIR,
MONKEYPOX HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A
WHILE IN THE WORLD. AND SO WHAT
HAPPENS IS THAT WHEN YOU TRY TO
IGNORE SOMETHING THAT SPREADS
EXPONENTIALLY BECAUSE IN THE
BEGINNING, IT'S FAIRLY SLOW. AND
YOU SAY, OH, IT'S NO BIG DEAL.
IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. YOU DON'T
NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IT. AND THEN
IT REALLY STARTS TO TAKE OFF.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE SEEN THAT
WHAT WE'RE SEEING GOING ON MIKEY
PACKS. WE JUST SAW THIS WITH
COVID AS WELL AND WE NEED TO
TAKE THESE THINGS SERIOUSLY, AND
WE NEED TO ENSURE WE INVEST IN
PUBLIC HEALTH, WHICH WE ARE
DOING ACTUALLY ON THIS PAST
BUDGET AS WELL AND THAT SAID WE
COULDN'T DO MORE. HOPEFULLY, THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL GET THE
SAME IDEA AS WELL AND GET
CONSISTENT FUNNY FOR PUBLIC
HEALTH. WE ALSO NEED TO KNOW WE
NEED TO TAKE A MULTILAYERED
APPROACH, SO IT'S NOT ABOUT ONE
SILVER BULLET, SO IT'S GREAT. WE
HAVE SCIENCE AND THAT WE
ACTUALLY HAVE VACCINATIONS FOR
COVID AND MONKEY POX, AND WE
HAVE, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT, UM
MANY LAYERS OF PROTECTION
BECAUSE, DEPENDING ON THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF WHETHER IT'S
THE VACCINE, THE TREATMENT OTHER
TYPES OF THINGS EACH TIME WE
REDUCE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR
SOMEONE TO CATCH THE DISEASE
REDUCED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT
DISEASE TO SPREAD RIGHT. EVERY
PERSON WHO'S INFECTED CAN THEN
INFECT OTHER PEOPLE, AND THAT'S
AND SO WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT
THE MULTI LAYER APPROACH. I
AGREE THAT THE PROBLEM IS THAT
IT'S TOO EASY TO OTHER THE
PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED,
RIGHT? THOSE PEOPLE. THEY JUST
DIDN'T ETCETERA, AND
UNFORTUNATELY THAT BACKFIRES
RIGHT? THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
TO NOT BLAME AND CREATES STIGMA
AND PRETEND LIKE IT'S SOMEONE
ELSE'S PROBLEM. UM THESE
DISEASES WILL EVENTUALLY SPREAD
WELL, BASICALLY EVENTUALLY GET
TO THE GENERAL POPULATION, THEY
SAY. UM AND SO, SO IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT WE TAKE STEPS TO
AGAIN SLOW DOWN AND HOPEFULLY
EVEN PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THESE
DISEASES WITH WITH WHATEVER
TOOLS WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL.
SO AGAIN, I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS
HEARING. I WANT AGAIN. THANK UM
, SENATOR WEINER FOR HIS
LEADERSHIP IN THIS AND OTHER
THINGS ALSO MAKE NOTE THAT
SIMULTANEOUS WHO ARE ALSO HAVING
ANOTHER HEARING COMMITTEE AND
THE COMMITTEE ON PANDEMIC
EMERGENCY RESPONSE ON THE
LESSONS FROM COVID. HOPEFULLY
THESE ARE LESSONS. WE CAN TAKE
THE HEART BECAUSE WE TRY TO
ADDRESS MONKEYPOX AS WE'RE JUST
SEEING COVID OF DUDES DRESSED.
THE NEXT CONTINUE INFECTIOUS
DISEASE. I THINK IT'S
INTERESTING AS WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, EVENTUALLY
AS WELL. THAT'S ALSO MEANS
GREATER EXPOSURES AS WELL. NEW
DISEASES TEND TO EMERGE FROM
FROM PLACES AROUND THE WORLD
FROM ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE
CHANGING BECAUSE OF CLIMATE, THE
CLIMATE CRISIS. AND SO WE NEED
TO BE MORE READY AND WE NEED TO
DEVELOP MORE EFFECTIVE RESPONSES
. AND SO HOPEFULLY THIS HEARING
IS ANOTHER STEP IN THAT
DIRECTION. NOT ONLY ADDRESSING,
OF COURSE MONKEYPOX MORE
SPECIFICALLY, BUT ALSO MORE
BROADLY, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SENATOR
PAM. OKAY WELL, NOW MOVE TO OUR
FIRST PANEL. UM FIRST PANEL, THE
MEMBERS OF THAT PANEL WILL BE DR
ERIC UPON WHO WAS THE STATE
EPIDEMIOLOGIST FOR THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. UH AND THE DEPUTY
DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER FOR
INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT THE
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
HEALTH. WE'LL ALSO BE JOINED BY
DR VIVEK JANE, MD. WHO IS AN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE
DIVISION OF HIV INFECTIOUS
DISEASES AND GLOBAL MEDICINE AT
SAN FRANCISCO GENERAL HOSPITAL
AND UCSF, WHO ALSO RUNS THE UCSF
SF GENERAL MONKEYPOX CLINIC WILL
ALSO BE JOINED BY DAN TOOLBARS
AREOLA. WHO THE CITY COUNCIL
MEMBER OF THE CITY OF TRACY AND
DAVID WATSON, SAN FRANCISCO
RESIDENT TO RECOVERED MONKEYPOX
PATIENTS, SO WE WILL, UM, GET
THE FOUR OF THEM UP ON THE
SCREEN ON THE PANEL. OKAY? GREAT
SO WE'LL START WITH WITH DR PAWN
WHO I SEE IS ON THE SCREEN.
WELCOME DOCTOR PAN AND THANK YOU
FOR BEING WITH US AND AGAIN AS A
REMINDER TO ALL OF OUR
WITNESSES. IF POSSIBLE, WE'RE
ASKING PEOPLE TO MORE OR LESS
TRY TO KEEP IT TO ABOUT UP TO
SIX MINUTES IF POSSIBLE. AND WE
WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
THANK YOU, DOCTOR POND, YOU MAY
PROCEED. GREAT GOOD AFTERNOON AS
HERE. WIENER AND MEMBERS OF THE
SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE AND
MONKEY POX. THANKS FOR HAVING ME
THIS AFTERNOON. I'M HERE TODAY
TO TALK TO YOU MORE ABOUT HOW
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IS
LEVERAGING MUCH OF OUR STATE AND
PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE
THAT WE'VE BUILT AND IMPROVED
DURING THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC TO
BE ABLE TO RESPOND, AND THERE
ARE MANY RESOURCES AND
PARTNERSHIPS. WE'VE TAPPED FROM
THE COVID PANDEMIC THAT WE ARE
ABLE TO UTILIZE AND SHIFT TO
THIS MONKEY POX RESPONSE. WE DID
ACTIVATE OUR PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN OUR
COORDINATIONS THAT ARE IN LATE
MAY AND INCREASED A LOT OF THAT
ACTIVATION WHEN WE DECLARED THE
STATE OF EMERGENCY EARLIER LAST
WEEK, WE HAVE AS A LAST WEEK AND
I'M SURE THAT I WILL HAVE LATER
NUMBERS LATER TODAY OVER 1300
CASES HERE IN CALIFORNIA ABOUT
2% OF THOSE ARE HOSPITALS AND WE
HAVE SEEN OUR FIRST FEW
PEDIATRIC CASES AND PURSUED
FEMALE CASES. AH SO TO OUTLINE A
FEW HIGHLIGHTS, UH, ONE OF THE
MANY AREAS THAT IS COMMON ACROSS
ALL PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSES, AND
CERTAINLY FOR THIS ONE IS OUR
PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTIGATION
RESPONSE. AND HOW IS THE STATE
HEALTH DEPARTMENT WORK WITH OUR
LOCALS WERE USING OUR CURRENT
SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM. UM WE
REALLY INCREASE THE ROBUSTNESS
OF OUR ELECTRONIC LAB REPORTING
AS WELL. AND THIS IS A
IMMEDIATELY REPORTABLE. DISEASE
NOW FOR BOTH CLINICIANS AND LABS
. WE'VE DONE SOME RAPID TRAINING
OF DISEASE INVESTIGATORS AND
LEVERAGE SYSTEM WE CALLED CAL
CONNECT THAT WE STOOD UP FOR
DURING THE PANDEMIC TO REALLY
HELP WITH CONTACT. TRACING
OUTBREAK INVESTIGATIONS,
AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATIONS OF CASES
AND CONTACTS AND HAVE CREATED A
PUBLIC HEALTH RESERVE COURT IF
NEEDED, AS WELL. UM WASTEWATER
SURVEILLANCE DETECTION THAT WE
HAVE REALLY INCREASED IN
CALIFORNIA LED TO ONE OF THE
FIRST MONKEYPOX DETECTIONS IN
THE WASTE WATER IN THE COUNTRY,
SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH
ACADEMIC PARTNERS ON THAT AND
ARE MODELING AND PROJECTIONS
TEAM IS SOMETHING THAT WE STOOD
UP DURING THE PANDEMIC. WE
ACTUALLY STOOD OURS UP BEFORE
THE CDC AND I BELIEVE WE'RE THE
ONLY STATE PUBLIC HEALTH
DEPARTMENT TO HAVE THAT AND THAT
TEAM IS HELPING US AS WELL.
REALLY THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT
SCENARIOS AND POTENTIAL
DIRECTIONS HAS BEEN EPIDEMIC CAN
GO. AND THEN, OF COURSE, HOLDING
ON SEQUENCING IS IMPORTANT FOR
MONITORING ANY POTENTIAL LEVEL.
LUCIEN EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A
MUCH MORE STABLE VIRUS, UM, AND
CAN ASSIST US WITH OTHER
OUTBREAK INVESTIGATIONS AND
INDEPENDENT STUDYING INDEPENDENT
INTRODUCTION INTO COMMUNITIES.
TO SHIFT A LITTLE BIT TOO.
VACCINE WHICH WAS ALREADY
TOUCHED UPON, YOU KNOW WHAT IS
DIFFERENT AS MENTIONED IS AND
WHAT WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR IS THAT
WE DO HAVE A VACCINE THAT IS
EFFECTIVE, ALTHOUGH AGAIN IN
EXTREMELY LIMITED SUPPLY, IT'S
ONLY AVAILABLE VIA THE FEDERAL
STRATEGIC NATIONAL STOCKPILE AND
THAT IS THEN ALLOCATED TO STATES
AND THEN IN TURN TO LOCAL HEALTH
DEPARTMENTS. AS YOU ALL LIKELY
KNOW, WE'VE ONLY RECEIVED ABOUT
109,000 DOSES TO DATE FOR THE
WHOLE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. WE DO
HAVE ANOTHER WHAT? THEY'RE
CALLING PHASE THREE B. THAT'S
COMING NEXT WEEK. UM AND TO
BRIEFLY MENTION SORT OF HOW WE
MAKE ALLOCATION DECISIONS WITHIN
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. WE LOOK
AT THE PROPORTION WITHIN A LOCAL
HEALTH JURISDICTION OF MONKEYPOX
CASES THEY HAVE, AND ALSO A
PROXY FOR THE HIGHEST RISK
POPULATION, WHICH IS EARLY
SYPHILIS CASES IN MALES, AND
THAT'S HOW WE HAVE ALLOCATED AND
THEN WE KEEP ABOUT 15% IN
RESERVE FOR OTHER NEW
JURISDICTIONS. OTHER SORT OF
OUTBREAKS OR OTHER SPECIFIC
RESPONSES. AS MANY OF YOU ALSO
KNOW, WE DID ESTIMATE THAT
PROBABLY ABOUT 3 TO 400,000.
INDIVIDUALS ARE AT HIGHEST RISK
HERE IN CALIFORNIA, AND WE
REQUESTED FROM THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT AND ALLOCATION OF
7800. THERE ARE SOME
ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT WE UNDERSTAND
ARE COMING AND THE COMING DAYS
THAT ARE REALLY GOING TO EXPAND
THE ABILITY TO VACCINATE MORE
PEOPLE, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY
ENCOURAGING. IT'S AN INTRADERMAL
, UH, DOZING, WHICH WOULD BE
ABLE TO GIVE FIVE DOSES FOR
EVERY VILE I'LL AND THAT WOULD
ACTUALLY INCREASE ANY DOSES ONCE
IT'S IMPLEMENTED, UM FIVE TIMES
FROM WHAT WE'RE GETTING. SO
WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGED TO HEAR
THIS NEWS THAT IS FORTHCOMING
FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, I
THINK WILL REALLY HELP US BE
ABLE TO VACCINATE MORE PEOPLE
THAT ARE AGAIN AT HIGHEST RISK.
WE'VE BEEN LEVERAGING OUR
INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S IN PLACE
FOR STAFFING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
. SOME TURNKEY MOBILE
VACCINATION CLINICS HAVE ALREADY
BEEN MOBILIZED FOR SOME REGIONAL
SITES WERE ALSO USING MY CALVE
AX AND MY TURN FOR EASE OF
SCHEDULING INTERACTION. ALL
THINGS WE'VE BEEN LEVERAGING.
AND OF COURSE, COMMUNICATIONS IS
ABSOLUTELY KEY. WE'RE TRYING TO
BOTH INCREASE AWARENESS IN THE
GENERAL PUBLIC. UM AND ALSO IN
THE SPECIFIC POPULATIONS AT RISK
, AND JUST AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED
EARLIER BY THE OTHER SENATORS
NEEDING TO BALANCE, UM, MAKING
SURE THAT THE POPULATION AT
HIGHEST RISK IS AWARE AND
LEARNING ABOUT HARM REDUCTION,
BUT ALSO MAKING SURE NOT TO
STIGMATIZE MONKEYPOX KIND AGAIN
. IN FACT, ANYONE, UM WE'VE
DEVELOPED COMMUNICATIONS TALK IT
AND SOCIAL MEDIA. WE WERE
CLOSELY WITH OTHER REGIONAL
PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY BASED
ORGANIZATIONS AND LGBTQ CBOS.
WE'VE GOTTEN SOME MEDIA
CAMPAIGNS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO
LAUNCH. WE'VE PUT ADS ON META
AND GRINDER AND LOOKING AT OTHER
DATING APPS. WE ALSO HAVE
STARTED DOING SOME STAKEHOLDER
ENGAGEMENT WITH LISTENING
SESSIONS AROUND THE STATE
ENGAGED MONKEY, PAKISTAN
DIFFICULT VISOR COMMITTEE AND
THE OTHER EFFORTS WERE REALLY
WANTING TO INCREASE NOW OUR
HEALTHCARE PROVIDER OUTREACH TO
INCREASE AWARENESS, EDUCATION ON
THE DISEASE AND INFECTION,
CONTROL AND TRANSMISSION AND ALL
OF THESE ELEMENTS OF TESTING
TREATMENT OF VACCINATION. UH AND
THEN, JUST A TOUCH UPON TESTING
PROMOTED TO IS THAT WAS ALREADY
MENTIONED SO AGAIN. AH EARLY ON
, YOU COULD ONLY GET THE TEST
THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEALTH
NETWORK. ALTHOUGH HERE IN
CALIFORNIA WE HAD 10 LABS THAT
COULD IMMEDIATELY DO THAT
INCLUDED IN ADDITION TO OUR
RICHMOND LAB, AND THANKFULLY,
THE COMMERCIAL AND ACADEMIC LABS
HAVE STILL QUITE QUICKLY ON THIS
, SO WE ARE INCREASINGLY SEEING
MORE AND MORE TESTING HAPPENING
IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
OTHER OVER 2800 CENTS THAT HAVE
BEEN REPORTED TO US JUST IN THE
LAST WEEK, AND MORE AND MORE
LABS ARE COMING ON BOARD EVERY
DAY. SO WHILE IT IS STILL
LIMITED, IT IS CERTAINLY
INCREASING FASTER THAN WITH
OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH. EMERGENCIES
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER,
TOO, THAT THIS IS, UH, REQUIRES
A CLINICAL EXAM AS MENTIONED
RIGHT NOW. IT'S REALLY SWABBING
SPECIFIC RASH LESIONS. WE'RE
CERTAINLY LEARNING WITH OTHER
PARTNERS AND ACADEMIC PARTNERS
AND WHAT OTHER STATES CAN BE
TESTED AND ALSO THE ROLE OF
ANTIBODY TESTING THE ROLE OF
TESTING PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE
SYMPTOMS. BUT WE LEVERAGE OUR
COVID NET LABORATORY NETWORK AS
WELL TO REALLY INCREASE THE
CAPACITY IN THE STATE FOR
TESTING. UH AND THEN TO TOUCH ON
THERAPEUTICS WANTED TO TALK
AGAIN ABOUT THAT. SO TEA PACKS
OR TAKE A VARMINT. WE ALSO GET
THAT THROUGH THE STRATEGIC
NATIONAL STOCKPILE. IT IS ONLY
AN I N D RIGHT NOW AND SO ONLY
AVAILABLE THROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH
DISTRIBUTION, BUT WE DO HAVE
OVER 80 SITES THAT ALREADY HAVE
IT LOCATED AND THANKFULLY, IT'S
AN ORAL TREATMENT. YOU CAN ALSO
DO IVY. THERE WERE 12 TREATMENT
CENTERS IN THE STATE THAT CAN DO
IVY. ALTHOUGH TURN KNOWLEDGE, NO
ONE HAS NEEDED THAT. I VE SO
IT'S AGAIN AT LEAST MUCH EASIER
AND AVAILABLE MORE OF WITHIN AN
EARLY ON IN, FOR EXAMPLE, THE
COVID 19 PANDEMIC. WE'RE ALSO
EXPLORING SOME TELE HEALTH AND
TELE GERM SUPPORT FOR LOCAL
HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND PROVIDERS
AND EXPLORING LEVERAGING OUR
PUBLIC CALL CENTER SO THAT
PEOPLE CAN CALL AND FIND OUT
WHERE THEY CAN. GET TREATED. SO
JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE AS OTHERS
AND SAID THAT THIS IS A
MULTILAYERED APPROACH IT NEEDS
AND ALL OF COMMUNITY APPROACH TO
SLOW THE SPREAD OF DISEASE. AND
I THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR
ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT
RESPONSE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH, ALL JAPAN AND WE WILL
DO QUESTIONS AT THE END OF EACH
PANEL. I DO JUST WANT TO NOTE,
THOUGH I THOUGHT THE POND
REFERRED TO THE, UM INTRADERMAL
VACCINATION APPROACH, WHICH IS
SMALLER DOSES PROVIDE THAT'S
DELIVERED IN A DIFFERENT WAY
THAN HELL. THE VACCINE IS
CURRENTLY BEING DELIVERED AND
LITERALLY DURING RIGHT BEFORE DR
PANTS. TESTIFYING. NO VACCINE
FOR THAT NEW VACCINE APPROACH,
SO I JUST WANTED TO MENTIONED
THAT THIS IS A UM VERY MUCH
ALIVE WORK IN PROGRESS. YEAH UM
, OKAY. GREAT. SO NEXT, UM I
WANT TO. UH UM UM I LOST MY
AGENDA. DR VIVEK JANE, WHO IS UH
AT UCSF IN SAN FRANCISCO.
GENERAL DOCTOR, THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO BE
WITH US TODAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH
. SENATOR WIENER SENATORS,
COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF
THE PUBLIC THANKS FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN
TODAY'S PANEL ABOUT THE EMERGING
MONKEY POX EPIDEMIC AFFECTING
CALIFORNIA. UM MY NAME IS VIVEK
CHAIN. I'M AN ASSOCIATE
PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN
FRANCISCO. I WORK AT SAN
FRANCISCO GENERAL HOSPITAL,
WHICH IS ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S
LARGE COUNTY HOSPITAL MEDICAL
CENTERS. WHERE I'M, A PRACTICING
PHYSICIAN AND RESEARCHER ON THE
DIRECTOR OF THE INFECTIOUS
DISEASE CLINIC, AND I COULD
DIRECT THE INFECTION CONTROL
PROGRAM HERE. I'M ALSO A MEMBER
OF THE HOSPITAL'S COVID RESPONSE
TEAM, AND FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS
HAVE BEEN HELPING DIRECT OUR
MEDICAL CENTER'S RESPONSE TO THE
PANDEMIC. AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOW
FACING AN ACCELERATING NEW
OUTBREAK, THIS TIME WITH A
DIFFERENT VIRUS MONKEYPOX. WHICH
JUST TO MP. IN MY REMARKS. UM AS
A PRACTICING CLINICIAN. I WANTED
TO JUST TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO
GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THIS DISEASE
. CLINICALLY UM, WHAT WE'RE
SEEING IN SAN FRANCISCO. THE
TREMENDOUS CHALLENGES PATIENTS
ARE FACING AND MY THOUGHTS AND
WHAT WE CAN DO TO BETTER RISE UP
AND MEET THIS VERY SIGNIFICANT
CHALLENGE. UM, THE MPX EPIDEMIC
IS RAPIDLY ACCELERATING AS WE'VE
ALREADY HEARD. CASE COUNTS WHERE
I AM IN SAN FRANCISCO ARE
RISING. AS OF TODAY, WE HAVE 472
CONFIRMED CASES OUT OF
CALIFORNIA'S 1310 AND CALIFORNIA
COMPRISES ALMOST 20% OF THE
ENTIRE UNITED STATES CASELOAD.
THESE NUMBERS ARE BEING UPDATED
DAILY DUE TO THE SPEED AT WHICH
NEW CASES ARE OCCURRING, AND I'M
STRONGLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE
EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS THAT HAVE
BEEN MADE BY THE CITY OF SAN
FRANCISCO STATE AND THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT IN RECENT DAYS. UM AS
YOU KNOW, MPX IS A VIRAL DISEASE
THAT IS TRANSMITTED MAINLY BY
CLOSE SKIN TO SKIN CONTACT
BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS. AND THUS
FAR, IT'S PRIMARILY OCCURRING
INSISTS AND TRANS MEN HAVING SEX
WITH OTHER MEN, MAINLY IN THE
AGE 25 TO 55 YEAR OLD
DEMOGRAPHIC, AND AFTER AN
INCUBATION PERIOD, MANY PATIENTS
HAVE SYMPTOMS THAT CAN INCLUDE
FEVER, MALAISE, HEADACHE, MUSCLE
EGGS, WHILE SOME PATIENTS DO NOT
HAVE THESE PRO DRAMA SYMPTOMS,
PATIENTS THEN DEVELOPED
DIFFERENT TYPES OF RASHES AND
SKIN MANIFESTATIONS, AND THE
DISEASE IS BEST KNOWN FOR
CAUSING A POX LIKE RASH WITH
FLUID FILLED VESICLES. CALLS ON
THE SKIN. SO IN OUR PATIENTS,
THESE SKIN LESIONS ARE
FREQUENTLY OCCURRING ON THE
GENITALS DIRECT, UM AND ALSO ON
THE ARMS, LEGS, CHEST AND BACK
AND THEN IN SOME CASES ON THE
FACE. SOME PATIENTS HAVE JUST A
FEW SKIN LESIONS. WHILE MANY
PATIENTS HAVE MANY LESIONS, AND
SOME OF OUR PATIENTS ARE
UNFORTUNATELY EXPERIENCING VERY
SEVERE PAIN IN THE THROAT AND
THE FERENCZ OR AT THE RECTUM AND
THE GENITALS, AND THIS IS TRULY
CAUSING A TREMENDOUS DEGREE OF
SUFFERING, INCLUDING DIFFICULTY
WITH EATING OR DRINKING FLUIDS
AND VERY SEVERE DIFFICULTIES
WITH HAVING BOWEL MOVEMENTS. MPX
SYMPTOMS, EVENTUALLY IMPROVING
MOST PATIENTS AND THE RASH WILL
CRUST OVER AND THE SKIN WILL
HEAL, BUT THE PROCESS OF MOVING
THROUGH THIS ILLNESS IS QUITE
PROLONGED IN A LOT OF PATIENTS
AND CAN TAKE WEEKS, SO WE'RE
DOING OUR BEST TO SUPPORT
PATIENTS WITH SYMPTOM RELIEF,
PAIN CONTROL AND AESTHETIC GEL
AND OTHER MEASURES TO HELP
PATIENTS GET THROUGH IT. AS YOU
KNOW, AND YOU'VE HEARD ALREADY
IN THE HEARING. WE HAVE ONE
ANTIVIRAL DRUG AVAILABLE RIGHT
NOW CALLED TECH OVERDRAMATIC.
THIS DRUG IS AVAILABLE FOR US TO
PRESCRIBE TO PATIENTS WITH
SEVERE SYMPTOMS, BUT IT IS ONLY
AVAILABLE ON A COMPASSIONATE USE
PROTOCOL THAT IS USED FOR
INVESTIGATIONAL NEW DRUGS. SO WE
CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE A STRONG
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE BASE BEHIND
THIS DRUG, AND WE DON'T KNOW IF
IT IS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE IN
REDUCING MPX SYMPTOMS OR
BLUNTING THE DISEASE TRAJECTORY
. HOWEVER WE HAVE STRONG DATA
INDICATING IT'S VERY SAFE AND
QUITE WELL TOLERATED IN
PATIENTS, AND WE DO HAVE A FAIR
AMOUNT OF ANECDOTAL DATA THAT IS
ACCUMULATING, INDICATING THAT
IT'S PLAYING QUITE HELPFUL ROLE,
SO WE ARE TRYING TO OFFER IT TO
A NUMBER OF PATIENTS, ESPECIALLY
THOSE WHO ARE FACING MORE SEVERE
COMPLICATIONS. UNFORTUNATELY
THOUGH, THE PROCESS OF
PRESCRIBING TYPE OF YOUR MAT TO
EACH INDIVIDUAL PATIENT IS VERY
TIME CONSUMING AND INVOLVES
PAPERWORK. SIGNED CONSENT FORM,
SOMETIMES LANGUAGE TRANSLATION,
INHIBITED MANY MEDICAL CENTERS
AND CLINICS FROM BEING ABLE TO
OFFER THE DRUG. TOO MANY PEOPLE,
SO THERE'S BEEN WIDESPREAD
NATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF THESE
REALLY SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO
USING TAKEOVER RAMAT. SO IN MY
FIELD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
WERE REALLY DEVOTED TO URGENTLY
AND RAPIDLY ADDRESSING NEW
INFECTIOUS THREATS, THE MINUTE
THEY COME FORWARD AND THREATEN
OUR POPULATION AND OUR PATIENTS
, SO OUR COMMUNITIES WERE
WORKING REALLY HARD TO ADDRESS
THE MPX EPIDEMIC, BUT ALSO
CONTINUING TO HANDLE COVID 19
STAFFING SHORTAGES THROUGHOUT
THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND A LOT
OF OTHER CHALLENGES. SO I WANT
TO JUST OFFER A FEW THOUGHTS
FROM MY CLINICAL AND OPERATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE AT ONE OF
CALIFORNIA'S LARGE URBAN SAFETY
NET HOSPITALS AND HOW WE CAN
IMPROVE OUR RESPONSE TO THE MPX
EPIDEMIC AND HOW WE CAN MOVE
FASTER AND BE MORE EFFECTIVE AND
HELPED MORE PATIENTS. SO FIRST I
THINK WE REALLY NEED TO URGENTLY
FUND AND AUGMENT FRONT END
CLINICAL LOCATIONS THAT ARE
CURRENTLY RECEIVING LARGE
NUMBERS OF PATIENTS SUSPECTED TO
HAVE MPX USE, INCLUDING
INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND STD
CLINICS, HIV CLINICS, URGENT
CARE CENTERS AND EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENTS. THIS KIND OF
EMERGENCY FUNDING THAT WE NEED
WILL HELP. CLINICAL ENTERPRISES
TAKES SWABS OF THE SKIN PERFORM
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR MPX AND
OTHER STDS ASSESS PATIENTS FOR
OTHER MEDICAL ISSUES AND HELP
COUNSEL PEOPLE ON HOW TO CARRY
OUT AN EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF
ISOLATION SO THAT TRANSMISSION
TO OTHERS CAN BE REDUCED.
SECOND. WE ALSO URGENTLY NEED
FUNDING TO AUGMENT CLINICS THAT
CAN PRESCRIBE TAKEOVER RAMAT. AS
I NOTED EARLIER. THE PROCESS OF
STARTING TOOK OF YOUR MAT IS
QUITE LENGTHY AND OUR PATIENTS
DESERVE DEDICATED TIME WITH
DOCTORS AND NURSES TO TALK ABOUT
THEIR DISEASE AND THE TREATMENT.
BY CURRENT REGULATORY
REQUIREMENTS. WE ALSO HAVE TO DO
FOLLOW UP VISITS ONE WEEK AND
THREE WEEKS AFTER STARTING
TAKEOVER RAMAT SO TREATING ONE
PATIENT MEANS A SEQUENCE OF
THREE VISITS. SOME OF WHICH CAN
BE BY TELEMEDICINE, BUT ALL OF
WHICH NEED DEDICATED FUNDING FOR
DOCTORS, NURSES AS WELL AS
SPACES AND CLINICS AND MEDICAL
CENTERS. UM THIRD, WE NEED
FUNDING FOR RESEARCH INTO NEW
MODES OF MPX DIAGNOSTIC TESTING
, ESPECIALLY INVESTIGATIONS INTO
TESTS OF SALIVA, THROAT SWABS,
RECTAL SWABS, WE NEED MORE WORK
ON MPX THERAPIES, INCLUDING TYPE
OF ERA MET AS WELL AS OTHERS,
AND WE NEED MORE RESEARCH INTO
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE GENIUS
VACCINE, SO THIS SHOULD INCLUDE
RAPID INITIATION OF CLINICAL
TRIALS OF TAKEOVER OR NOT, THESE
ARE ALREADY BEING PLANNED, AS
WELL AS OTHER THERAPIES AND
STUDIES THAT ARE TRYING TO
FIGURE OUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
THE GENIUS VACCINE. THE EU'S
EFFORTS COULD BE AUGMENTED, I
THINK, BY CALIFORNIA TAKING A
LEADING ROLE IN AGGREGATING
HEALTH DATA AND STATISTICS FROM
ALL ITS COUNTIES, BUILDING A
REGISTRY AND ENABLING CLINICIANS
TO ANALYZE THESE DATA FOR TRENDS
AND DISCOVERIES, AND FINALLY
FOURTH AND FINALLY, WE NEED
EVERY TYPE OF STATE LEVEL
SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS TO CARRY
OUT PERIODS OF ISOLATION. TO
REDUCE THE CHANCE OF
TRANSMISSION TO OTHERS. AS YOU
KNOW, IN OUR STATE, MANY
PATIENTS LIVE IN DENSE HOUSING
WITH A HIGH NUMBER OF ROOMMATES
OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AND MANY
LIVE IN CONGREGATE SETTINGS,
INCLUDING IN OUR SHELTER SYSTEMS
AND FOR US TO DO THE BEST JOB OF
BREAKING CHAINS OF TRANSMISSION
, WHICH IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
WE NEED RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO
PROVIDE PATIENTS WITH TEMPORARY
PLACES TO STAY AND GET BETTER.
MANY PLACES, INCLUDING SAN
FRANCISCO DURING THE COVID
PANDEMIC, STOOD UP SUCCESSFUL
ISOLATION, HOTELS AND OTHER
FORMS OF TEMPORARY SHELTER TO
ALLOW PATIENTS THESE KINDS OF
ACCOMMODATIONS, AND I THINK IT
WILL BE GREAT IF CALIFORNIA CAN
BUILD ON THESE SUCCESSES AND
ENSURE THE SAME CAPABILITIES ARE
AVAILABLE DURING OUR MPX
RESPONSE, SO JUST CLOSE BY
SAYING ARE INFECTIOUS DISEASE
COMMUNITY IS BUILDING ON A LOT
OF LESSONS LEARNED DURING
CALIFORNIA'S COVID RESPONSE. AND
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A LOT OF
INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S BEEN BUILT
THE PAST TWO YEARS, INCLUDING
VACCINATION SITES WERE 100%
COMMITTED TO RISING UP IN
MEETING THIS CHALLENGE THAT IS
BEING POSED TO OUR PATIENTS AND
OUR COMMUNITIES. UM AND WE NEED
THE LEADERSHIP OF THE
LEGISLATURE TO HELP US QUICKLY
ACT ON ALL OF THESE FRONTS AS WE
ARE RIGHT NOW IN A CRITICAL
EARLY PHASE OF THE RESPONSE SO
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOUR
COMMITTEE. I'D BE VERY HAPPY TO
ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT COME UP.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DOCTOR JANE
. NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM DAN
TAVARES AREOLA, WHO'S A CITY
COUNCIL MEMBER CITY OF TRACY.
THANK YOU. CHAIR AND GOOD
AFTERNOON EVERYONE. AND DAN
AREOLA COUNCIL MEMBER CITY.
TRACY ALSO SERVED AS THE LEGAL
CALIFORNIA CITIES. L G B T Q
CAUCUS PRESIDENT. SO I'M I'M
HERE TO GIVE YOU A BIT OF A
PERSPECTIVE, NOT ONLY FOR ME,
BUT THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE
CURRENTLY FACING IN THE CENTRAL
VALLEY, BUT ALSO HERE GIVING
PERSPECTIVE AS SOMEONE WHO HAS
TESTED POSITIVE FOR MONKEY POX
AND WHO IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING
TREATMENT. SO ON JULY 27TH THAT
EVENING, I WAS I GOT MY FIRST
SYMPTOMS OF A SIMPLE FEVER. UM
POINT I HAD ONE SORE UNDERMINE
MY TORSO. I THOUGHT IT WAS
SIMPLY INFECTED BUGGED. BY THE
NEXT DAY I WENT TO THE MY
REGULAR PHYSICIAN. UM WHO TOLD
ME THAT SHE FELT UNPREPARED. SHE
DID NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY
TESTING EQUIPMENT. SO SHE
REFERRED ME TO THE EMERGENCY
ROOM AFTER A FIVE HOUR WAIT,
THEN WAS FINALLY ABLE TO SEE OUR
EMERGENCY STAFF. THEY THEMSELVES
HAD TO GO AND DO RESEARCH
BECAUSE THEY WERE UNFAMILIAR. UM
THEY WERE INEXPERIENCED WITH THE
PROTOCOL. ULTIMATELY FOUR DAYS
LATER, ON AUGUST 1ST. I RECEIVED
NOTICE THAT I WAS POSITIVE AND
IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT TO
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SANDWICH. KING
COUNTY, UM AND FORMED THE NURSE
THERE THAT I HAD A PARTNER WHO
WAS A CLOSE CONTACT. AND SHE
TOLD ME THAT SHE WOULD CONTACT
ALAMEDA PUBLIC HEALTH AND BORDER
TO GET HIM I POST EXPOSURE
VACCINE. UM, HE ADAPT POINT. IT
IS DUE DILIGENCE AND TRY AND GET
RESOURCES FOR HIMSELF. HE WAS
TOLD BY PUBLIC HEALTH OF ALAMEDA
THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH
KAISER BECAUSE THAT WAS HIS
INSURANCE WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO
REACH ALAMEDA. KAISER'S BOOK,
THE PHONE, MULTIPLE PEOPLE, AND
NO ONE WAS BEING PARTICULARLY
RESPONSIVE. HE HAD TO, UM, THEN
GO IN PERSON AND WAS ASKED TO
LEAVE BECAUSE HE WASN'T CLOSE
CONTACT. ULTIMATELY WHEN HE DID
GET A PHONE CALL AFTERWARDS, HE
WAS TOLD THAT ALAMEDA KAISER DID
NOT HAVE VACCINES WOULD HAVE TO
TRY CONTRA COSTA. WHEN HE CALLED
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY. THEY WERE
TOLD THERE WAS NO VACCINES THERE
AND THEY'RE NOT TAKING ANY
APPOINTMENTS. MHM THEN REACHED
OUT AGAIN TO ALAMEDA PUBLIC
HEALTH, TOLD THAT THEY BELIEVE
THEY HAVE RESOURCES IN OAKLAND
AND THEN LATER TOLD THEY DIDN'T
TOLD THEY WOULD HAVE ACCESS IN
SAN LEANDRO, AND THEY DIDN'T.
FINALLY HE WAS TOLD THERE'S
STILL BEING MONDAY. THE NEXT
RESOURCE YOU GET WOULD BE AN
LGBT CLINIC IN OAKLAND ON THAT
FRIDAY, DESPITE OF THE FACT THAT
HE HAD BEEN A CLOSE CONTACT.
MYSELF THAT SAME DAY I WAS I WAS
EXPERIENCE AFTER I TESTED
POSITIVE. I HAD TO SPEAK IN MY
POSITION. I JUST REFERRED TO AN
INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST.
SPOKE WITH THE PHARMACIST AND
WAS CONTINUING A DIALOGUE WITH
PUBLIC HEALTH THROUGHOUT UM
THERE WAS A LOT OF CONFUSION
WITH THE PAPERWORK WHEN I SPOKE
WITH THE INFECTIOUS DISEASE
SPECIALISTS, THEY SAID THAT THEY
HAD STARTED MY PAPERWORK AND
SENT IT TO CITY TO SACRAMENTO.
UM WHEN I SPOKE TO PUBLIC
HEALTH, THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY
NEEDED THE PAPERWORK AND THEY
HAD RECEIVED. IT WAS JUST A LOT
OF CONFUSION. ULTIMATELY THE
NEXT DAY AFTER I TESTED POSITIVE
, MY PARTNER WAS STILL UNABLE TO
GET ACCESS TO THE VACCINE. SO I
THEREFORE HAD TO ADVOCATE FOR
HIM TO SOUND. KING COUNTY HAD TO
REQUEST AN EXCEPTION BECAUSE
SANDWICH KING COUNTY DESPITE
BEING A COUNTY OF 750,000,
PEOPLE ONLY HAD 10 VACCINES, AND
SO THEY HAD TO MAKE AN EXCEPTION
TO ALLOW SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF
SANDWICH KING COUNTY TO GET A
DOSE. UM BUT THAT WAS ONLY DUE
TO THE ADVOCACY THAT WE HAVE
DONE. ULTIMATELY ON THAT SAME
DAY, I HAD SPEAKING OF PUBLIC
HEALTH TRYING TO GET JOSEPH TEA
PACKS. IT TOOK UNTIL THE FOURTH
DAY AFTER THAT, ON AUGUST, 4TH
TWO FINALLY RECEIVED TEA PACKS.
UM. SO I THINK MY FRUSTRATION IS
THE FACT THAT IT TOOK MY PARTNER
WHO WAS A CLOSE CONTACT OVER 24
HOURS TO DOSE. AND IT TOOK FOUR
DAYS AFTER I TESTED POSITIVE TO
RECEIVE BOX AND MYSELF. I'M I'M
A LAWYER. ELECTED OFFICIAL. I
HAVE EXPERIENCE IN HOW TO
ADVOCATE FOR MYSELF AND OTHERS
AND HOW TO NAVIGATE THESE
SYSTEMS. ONLY IMAGINE HOW BEFORE
CHALLENGING IT IS FOR THOSE WHO
DON'T HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE OR
WHO FACE DIFFERENT BARRIERS LIKE
LANGUAGE. I'VE REACHED OUT TO
OTHER PEOPLE IN THE CENTRAL
VALLEY TO SEE WHAT OTHER TYPES
OF CHALLENGES FACING AND I HEARD
FROM A VARIETY OF INDIVIDUALS
TALKED TO PEOPLE FROM TULARE
COUNTY VETERANS WHO WERE TRYING
TO RECEIVE A DOSE OF THE B A,
WHO WERE UNABLE TO ACCESS IT.
THESE WERE ELDERS WHO WERE
SURVIVORS OF THE AIDS CRISIS WHO
ARE SIMPLY TRYING TO BE USE. UH
RESPONSIBLE. I SPOKE TO FOLKS
AND FRESNO COUNTY TOLD ME THEY
WERE DRIVING THREE HOURS TO
BERKELEY OR SACRAMENTO TO GET
ACCESS TO VACCINES. I SPOKE TO
PEOPLE ON CURRENT COUNTY. WE'RE
DRIVING OVER THE GRAPEVINE INTO
LOS ANGELES COUNTY TO GET ACCESS
TO VACCINES. AND I EVEN HEARD A
REPORT THAT WAS PARTICULARLY, UH
, CONCERNING OUT OF STOCKTON,
WHERE THERE WAS A PARENT SHARING
PHOTOS OF A STUDENT CLAIMING IT
WAS MONKEY POPS AND THEN OUR
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER HAVE ANY
CONFIRM THAT IT WAS SIMPLY
ACTIVE. THIS DISEASE IS
INCREDIBLY PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE
IT IS STILL STIGMATIZING FOR
LGBTQ PEOPLE AND I WANT TO
HIGHLIGHT AND CENTRAL VALLEY IN
PARTICULAR FACES UNIQUE
CHALLENGES. UM IN THE CENTRAL
VALLEY. WE SIMPLY DON'T HAVE THE
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK IN PLACE
. THIS IS A VERY RURAL AREA. NOT
EVERY COUNTY HAS A QUITE CENTER
. UNFORTUNATELY WE STILL
EXPERIENCE A LOT OF ANTI LGBT Q
SENTIMENT DURING THE CENTRAL
VALLEY. THIS IS THIS IS THE HOME
OF STRAIGHT PRIDE EXPERIENCING
IN STANISLAUS COUNTY. I MYSELF
THAT PERSON SEE BLATANT
HOMOPHOBIC THREATS AND ATTACKS
AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL. I KNOW
THE RESOURCES HAVE TO BE
DISTRIBUTED PARTICULAR ALGORITHM
ALGORITHM, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE
IT TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION SOME
OF THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES THAT WE
FACE HERE IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY
SO TODAY WITH MY ASK IS AND WHAT
I REALLY WANTED ADVOCATE
HIGHLIGHTS THE FACT THAT ONE OF
THEM JUST DO NEED ADDITIONAL
VACCINES THAT PEOPLE ARE TRYING
TO BE RESPONSIBLE, BUT WE SIMPLY
DON'T HAVE ACCESS AND THAT'S AN
INCREDIBLE BARRIER HERE IN
CENTRAL VALLEY. GREEN LINE
ACCESS TO TREATMENT, THIS
FLEXIBILITY WITH PAPERWORK TO
ACCESS TO PARKS WOULD BE
PARTICULARLY HELPFUL. UM AND
THREE JUST FURTHER EDUCATION AND
TESTING MATERIALS FOR OUR LOCAL
PHYSICIANS WHO SIMPLY JUST
INEXPERIENCED IN FAMILIAR WITH
THE PROTOCOL IN ORDER TO MAKE
SURE THAT THEY CAN TREAT THEIR
PATIENTS MOST EFFECTIVELY. UM I
DON'T WANT TO TAKE TOO MUCH MORE
TIME. BUT I WANT TO SAY THANK
YOU TO THE CHAIR SENATE
COMMITTEE FOR TAKING THIS
CRUCIAL DEATH. GOT TO BUILD A
FRAMEWORK ABOUT AROUND THIS
DISEASE. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
THERE'S ANYTHING MORE I CAN DO
TO HELP YOU. ADVOCATE I'M HERE
TO JOIN YOU. THANK YOU. THANK
YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER
AND THANK YOU. I KNOW IT'S NOT
EASY TO DISCLOSE YOUR OWN, UM,
HEALTH SITUATION. AND SO I
APPRECIATE YOUR COURAGE IN DOING
THAT BEFORE WE GET TO OUR LAST
WITNESS ON THIS PANEL THAT MR
WATSON DR POND DOESN'T NEED TO
LEAVE IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES. AND
SO I JUST WANNA, UM, IF THERE
ARE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR DR
PAWN BEFORE SHE GOES, I'M GOING
TO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT.
SO WE DON'T LOSE HER PEOPLE
HAVE, UH, BURNING QUESTIONS,
SENATOR EGGMAN. THANK YOU. AND I
WANNA ESPECIALLY THANK MY
CONSTITUENT TRACY CITY COUNCIL
MEMBER. THEN AREOLA FOR, UM, FOR
THOSE BRAVERY IN COMING FORWARD
AND IN DISCLOSING, UM, BECAUSE
IT BECAUSE HE IT IS VERY TRUE.
THERE'S STILL STILL WE STILL
FACE A LOT MORE STIGMA IN THE
VALLEY. AND I THINK MY QUESTION
TO DR PAWN IS JUST ABOUT ONE
RESOURCES DO BECOME AVAILABLE.
WHAT IS OUR PLAN TO MAKE SURE
THAT THEY ARE APPROPRIATELY? UH,
DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE STATE AND
SO PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO MAKE
THESE LONG TRIPS AND JOURNEYS.
SO WHAT WILL THE PLAN B ONCE?
HOPEFULLY WE DO GET MORE
VACCINES, AND NOW WE KNOW SOME
MORE HAVE BEEN APPROVED. WHAT'S
THE PLAN FOR DISTRIBUTION AND
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE
PUBLIC HOUSING FOR THE PEOPLE
WHO HAVE BEEN UNDER FIRE WITH
WITH COVID AND NOW COMING INTO
MONKEY POX? AND ALSO JUST MAYBE
MAYBE EDUCATING AROUND, UM
pAROUND STIGMA AND DIFFERENT
PARTS OF THE VALLEY. SIR, I
THINK YOU KNOW, AS WE HAVE MORE,
WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY
WITH OUR LOCAL HEALTH
DEPARTMENTS. SORT OF. AS YOU
ALLUDED TO AND YOU KNOW, I
THINK, AS WE HAVE MORE WILL BE
LOOKING AT THAT ALLOCATION
FORMULA. I THINK WE REALLY WERE
TRYING TO PRIORITIZE TO PEOPLE
WHO ARE KNOWN TO BE EXPOSED AND
THE HIGHEST RISK AND, UM, YOU
KNOW, BASED ON THE DATA, WE HAVE
SO AGAIN, REALLY GRATEFUL THAT
WE WILL HAVE SOME MORE VACCINE
THAT WE CAN DO THE DOSE, SPARING
HOPEFULLY VERY SOON. UM AND THEN
, AS FAR AS STIGMA AND AWARENESS
ABSOLUTELY WE, YOU KNOW, WANT TO
AGAIN WORK WITH LOCAL PARTNERS
WORK WITH TRUSTED PARTNERS
AROUND THAT AND REALLY THE
COMBINATION OF MAKING SURE WE'RE
HAVING APPROPRIATE HARM
REDUCTION MESSAGES THAT ARE REAL
AND RELEVANT, AS WELL AS JUST
GENERAL PUBLIC AWARENESS. AND
THEN THE PROVIDER AWARENESS AS
WELL. WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE BEEN
HEARING THAT AND WANT TO WORK
WITH OUR LOCAL AND REGIONAL
PARTNERS ON IMPROVING AWARENESS
AND EDUCATION. THANKS. UM,
SENATOR KAMLAGER. THANK YOU. UM
I HAVE A QUESTION BUILDING ON,
UM. MY COLLEAGUE FROM STOCKTON'S
QUESTION. HOW WILL YOU
PRIORITIZE? UM HOW VACCINES ARE
EITHER DISTRIBUTED OR PROVIDED?
ARE YOU LOOKING AT DENSITY? ARE
YOU LOOKING AT HARD TO REACH
COMMUNITIES? ARE YOU LOOKING AT
UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES? YOU
HAVE TO HAVE SOME SPECIFICS IN
MIND BASED ON YOU KNOW OTHER
CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE HAD TO
FACE IN TERMS OF THE PUBLIC
HEALTH SPHERE. YEAH ABSOLUTELY
SO TO DATE, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS A
FORMULA AND WE HAVE A ON OUR
WEBSITE. YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE
BIT MORE OF THE DETAILS, BUT
AGAIN, IT'S REALLY BEEN BASED ON
WHERE THE MONKEYPOX CASES ARE AS
WELL AS THE PROXY FOR THE
HIGHEST RISK POPULATION BASED ON
SORT OF WHAT WE KNOW TO DATE AND
THEN I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO
USE OUR LESSONS LEARNED FROM
FROM THAT ALLOCATION FORMULA
FROM COVID 19. WE ARE REALLY
LOOKING AT AH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING
MORE CLOSELY NOW TO RACE AND
ETHNICITY DATA AND ARE HELPING
PLACES INDEX DATA AND WORKING
WITH LOCALS. SOME OF THE HOLD
BACK OR RESERVED US IS, UM, HAVE
BEEN GIVEN HIGHER PRIORITY WHEN
, UM THERE IS A PROPOSED USE FOR
EITHER SOMETHING THAT'S REGIONAL
OR IN SOME OF OUR, UM,
POPULATIONS THAT HAVE REALLY
DIFFICULT TO DO THE ACCESS OR
OTHER EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS. IF
I CAN JUST ONE THING I DO WANT
TO NOTE WITH VACCINE
DISTRIBUTION. UM THE COUNTY OF
L, A, THE LARGEST COUNTY IN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UM,
RECEIVES A DIRECT ALLOCATION
FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
SIMILAR TO LIKE COOK COUNTY IN
ILLINOIS AND NEW YORK CITY. UM
AND I BELIEVE MIAMI DADE AND
MAYBE OTHERS. SO L. A DOES NOT
GET ITS VACCINE FROM THE STATE'S
DIRECT FROM THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT, WHICH IS GOOD FOR L.
A THE OTHER 57 COUNTIES ALL GO
THROUGH THE STATE WITH THE
DIFFERENT FORMULAS. UM, I WILL
STAY IN SAN FRANCISCO. JUST
GOING MOST FAMILIAR WITH OUR
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH HAS
BEEN TRYING TO MAKE SUREBECAUSE
IF YOU JUST TELL PEOPLE OKAY,
GET UP AT TWO AM AND SPEND 10 OR
12 HOURS SOME PEOPLE
CAN DO THAT. SOME PEOPLE CANNOT
PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WITH CERTAIN
KINDS OF JOBS, WHERE THEY CAN'T
JUST WORK FROM THEIR IPHONE. IN
LINE AND SO OUR DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC HEALTH HAS ALSO BEEN
PROVIDING Q. R CODES TO VARIOUS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WORKING
WITH UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES WHO
ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE S WAGE
JOBS WHERE THEY CAN'T STAND IN
LINE SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO
ADDRESS THAT IN THAT BODY, BUT
IT'S CHALLENGING. NO,
ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. UM OKAY
. UM DR PANDA'S SENATOR
GONZALEZ. THANK YOU, DOCTOR POND
. JUST ONE QUESTION FOR YOU
THINK ALSO TO BUILD OFF OF MY
COLLEAGUE, SENATOR KAMLAGER IS
SPECIFICALLY FOR THE LATINO
COMMUNITY BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE
UNFORTUNATELY AT THIS POINT,
FARING WORSE IS WE'VE SEEN IN IN
IN COVID 19 AS WELL. AND I KNOW
THAT THE APPROACH NEEDS TO BE
REALLY INTENTIONAL FOR SPANISH
SPEAKING COMMUNITIES RIGHT NOW,
I THINK IN CALIFORNIA WE HAVE
37% OF THE CASES ARE LATINOS. SO
WHAT IS THE WHAT IS THE APPROACH
GOING TO BE LIKE? HOW ARE WE
GOING TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY?
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO LEARN FROM
COVID TO REALLY REACH THESE? UM
YEAH, THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE
THAT WE'RE PROVIDING MORE
INFORMATION. UM AND AGAIN BEING
INTENTIONAL WITH EVERYTHING
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. YEAH,
WELL, SPECIFICALLY AROUND
SPANISH SPEAKING MATERIALS. WE
HAVE ALREADY ACTUALLY TRANSLATED
ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND OUR
COMMUNICATION TOOL KIDS INTO
SPANISH, UM, CAN PROVIDE, YOU
KNOW OUR OTHER LINKS AND
RESOURCES TELL YOU FOR THAT, AND
THEN AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S
REALLY THE BIGGEST LESSON
LEARNED IS TO WORK WITH PARTNERS
ON THE GROUND. SO WE KNOW OUR
LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ARE
DOING THAT AND THEN WE'RE ALSO
HAVING SOME DIRECT PARTNERSHIPS
AND MAKING SURE WE'RE GETTING
FEEDBACK. LOOPS ON THE TRUSTED
COMMUNITY PARTNERS. SO I THINK
THAT REALLY IS THE CRUCIAL PART
AND SO HAVING THESE LISTENING
SESSIONS TO GET THAT FEEDBACK,
UM AND WE'RE HEARING THAT OUR
LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, WHICH
YOU'LL HEAR MORE AND LATER
PANELS ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH
THEIR SORT OF TRUSTED COMMUNITY
PARTNERS, WHETHER ESPECIALLY
WHEN THEY CAN SEE LOCALLY WHERE
THEIR HARDEST HIT COMMUNITIES
ARE. AND IF I CAN JUST ADD ON
THAT IF WE CAN BE PROVIDED A
LIST OF THOSE TRUSTED COMMUNITY
PARTNERS BECAUSE IN L, A COUNTY
THE ISSUE WE HAVE APPRECIATE L A
COUNTY. IT'S WONDERFUL THAT THEY
ARE DOING A LOT OF GREAT WORK.
BUT WE HAVE OTHER DEPARTMENTS
LIKE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS LIKE
CITY OF LONG BEACH. THAT OFTEN
DON'T ARE A PART OF THOSE L A
COUNTY DISCUSSIONS OR THEY MIGHT
NOT BE A PART OF THE DISCUSSIONS
HERE AT THE STATE LEVEL BECAUSE
THEY ARE YOU KNOW, THEY'RE
THEY'RE REALLY COUNTY, BUT THEY
HAVE THEIR OWN HEALTH DEPARTMENT
AND THEY JUST MAY NOT BE
INCLUDED IN THERE. SO I LOVE TO
KNOW. UM, WHO THOSE
ORGANIZATIONS ARE, HOW WE CAN
WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER TO ENSURE
EVERYBODY IS INCLUDED IN THAT.
THANK YOU. AND DR PALMER BEFORE
WE LET YOU GO, CAN YOU JUST, UM
IT SEEMS LIKE WE MAY BE SEEING
AT LEAST SOMEWHAT OF AN UPTICK
IN THE AMOUNT OF VACCINE THAT'S
BEING ALLOCATED TO CALIFORNIA. I
SAW SAN FRANCISCO'S ALLOCATION
WENT UP THIS WEEK. I ASSUME THAT
MEANS OTHER COUNTIES DID AS WELL
BUT CAN JUST COMMENT ON THE
GENERAL TRAJECTORY OF VACCINE
SUPPLY IN CALIFORNIA. SURE SO WE
GOT VERY SORT OF DRIBBLES AND
DRAFTS ESSENTIALLY IN THOSE
FIRST FEW PHASES, AND THEN THIS
LATEST PHASE THREE, WHICH WE GOT
40% OF. I GUESS IT WAS LAST
WEEK, UM, WAS CLOSER TO, UH, I
WANT TO SAY AROUND SEVEN OR
800,000 FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY,
SO WE GOT THE CALIFORNIA
ALLOCATION OF THAT. SO THIS THIS
ALLOCATION WE GOT LAST WEEK WITH
THREE A WAS 40% OF THIS MOST
RECENT DAYS, AND THEY WERE
SUPPOSED TO GET ANOTHER BULLETS
THAT IS ABOUT 30% IT'LL BE LESS
THAN LAST WEEK AND COMING NEXT
WEEK, ALTHOUGH AGAIN WE WILL,
HOPEFULLY AND I THINK THAT WAS
THEIR AIM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT
FROM SOME OF THE CDC AND OTHER
CALLS THAT THIS ALLOCATION WE
GET NEXT WEEK, WE CAN ACTUALLY
CONSIDER IT SORT OF TIMES FIVE.
AND THEN WE'RE NOT SURE WHEN THE
SORT OF PHASE THREE C AND THEN
HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE
CONTINUED RAMPING UP THE OF ANY
OTHER RESOURCES, BUT WE WERE
TOLD AT ONE POINT THAT THE NEXT
DOSE IS AFTER, UH, THREE SEA
WOULDN'T BE UNTIL OCTOBER OR
EARLY 2023. BUT THIS JUST
HEARING STRATEGY I THINK WILL
REALLY HELP ALL OF US. STRETCH
THIS SUPPLY OUT. AND WHEN DO YOU
THINK WITH THIS NEW, UM APPROACH
THAT WITH THE SMALLER DOSES AND
MINISTERED IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
WHEN DO YOU THINK THAT WILL
START? IF YOU KNOW. I THINK
IT'LL DEPEND A LITTLE BIT SORT
OF ON THE GROUND OPERATIONS.
WHEN PEOPLE CAN GET TRAINED. IT
IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, AND
SOME OF OUR CLINICIANS MAY BE
ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT LATER. UM
BUT I THINK MANY PEOPLE HOPE
THAT YOU KNOW BY THE NEXT WEEK
OR SO WE CAN REALLY START TO, AT
LEAST IN SOME SETTINGS WHO CAN
TRAIN PEOPLE QUICKLY. CONCERN IS
THAT OKAY? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
DOCTOR PAWN. SURE OKAY, NOW
WE'LL GO TO OUR FINAL WITNESS ON
THIS PANEL, DAVID WATSON FROM
SAN FRANCISCO. UM AH, MR WATSON.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING
TODAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GOOD
AFTERNOON. THANK YOU TO THE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON MONKEY PARKS
. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY
TO TESTIFY A ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE
WITH MONKEYPOX. UH I FIRST WANT
TO SAY THAT MONKEY POX. THIS
MONKEY POX EPIDEMIC WAS
PREDICTABLE AND PREVENTABLE AT A
FEDERAL, UH, STATE AND CITY
LEVEL. AS OF THIS HEARING, IT IS
MY 29 DAYS SINCE THE ONSET OF
THE ILLNESS. UH MY FAMILY
SUFFERING COULD HAVE BEEN
AVOIDED HAD THE GOVERNMENT AND
THE ASSOCIATED AGENCIES ACTED IN
THE EFFICIENT, TIMELY MANNER TO
MEET THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES TO
THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
SECONDLY I WAS EXPOSED TO
MONKEYPOX CASUAL CONTACT, NOT
INTERNET CONTACT. MY FIRST
REQUEST FOR THE VACCINE WAS
EARLY JUNE, WHEN WORD OF THE
SPREAD IN OTHER COUNTRIES WAS ON
A SHARP RIDES. I WAS TOLD THAT
IT WAS BEING WORKED ON, BUT
THERE WAS NONE AVAILABLE, AND,
UH, IT WAS UP TO THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE IT. I
INQUIRED AGAIN AT THE END OF
JUNE AND THEN AGAIN ON JULY 7TH
AFTER HAVING A NASTY BOUT OF
COVID. I RECEIVED THE SAME
RESPONSE. UNBEKNOWNST TO ME, THE
NEXT DAY, I WAS EXPOSED TO
MONKEYPOX THROUGH CASUAL CONTACT
. I RAN INTO A FRIEND ON THE
STREET, WE PROCEEDED TO HUG AND
KISS ON THE CHEEK. MY FRIEND HAD
A SINGLE LESION ON HIS CHEEK.
WHICH HAD MISTAKEN FOR AN
INGROWN HAIR RESEMBLING A
REDDISH SIMPLE ON JULY 12TH.
FIVE DAYS LATER, I DEVELOPED THE
COUGH, WHICH PROGRESSED INTO FLU
LIKE SYMPTOMS THE FOLLOWING DAY.
UM THE ONSET OF LESIONS DIDN'T
START FOR 4.5 DAYS AFTER MY
INITIAL SYMPTOMS, WHICH IS THREE
DAYS LONGER THAN THE CDC GIVEN
TIMELINE. IT STARTED THEN SINGLE
PIMPLE ON MY CHEEK, WHICH I
STILL HAVE A SCAR FROM OUR
HEALING. UH. WOUND FROM, UH, MY
SICKNESS. AS IT PROGRESSES, THE
LESION MOVED FROM MY FACE TO MY
HANDS AND THEN, UH, TO MY
RECTUM. UM I ENDED UP IN THE E R
THREE TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF
4.5 DAYS WITH EXCRUCIATING PAIN
THAT OPIOIDS COULD BARELY TOUCH
. IT TOOK TWO DOSES OF MORPHINE
MY FIRST TIME IN THE HOSPITAL TO
KNOCK DOWN THE PAIN TO A
MANAGEABLE LEVEL. UH IT DIDN'T
MATTER WHETHER I WAS SITTING
STANDING OR LYING DOWN THE PAIN
WAS OFF THE CHARTS. I DO EAT. I
HAVE TO BE TESTED FOR MONKEYPOX
TWICE AS THE FIRST TEST CAME
BACK, NEGATIVE TESTING TOOK
THREE FULL DAYS TO COME BACK AND
FURTHER EXTENDING MY SUFFERING
WAS A TOTAL OF SEVEN DAYS TO GET
A POSITIVE RESULT. ACCESS TO THE
TEA PACKS. ANTIRETROVIRAL
TREATMENT WAS ALSO HARROWING
EXPERIENCE, TO SAY THE LEAST. I
DIDN'T QUALIFY FIRST BECAUSE I
DIDN'T MEET ALL THE CDC
CRITERIA. FORTUNATELY THE CDC
SOFTENED THE GUIDELINES IN THE
SECOND WEEK OF MY SICKNESS. THAT
SAID IT TOOK 12 DAYS OF
UNIMAGINABLE PAIN BEFORE I
RECEIVED EPOCHS. WITHIN 24 HOURS
OF MY FIRST TEA PACKS TREATMENT
. MY PAIN HAS BEEN REDUCED IN
HALF. AND WITHIN 24 HOURS. SORRY
48 HOURS, IT WAS REDUCED BY TWO
THIRDS. AS SOON AS WE SUSPECTED
. I HAD MONKEYPOX RETIRED LIST
TO TRY TO GET MY HUSBAND
VACCINATED WITHOUT SUCCESS. MY
HUSBAND DEVELOPED HIS PERSONAL
ASIANS ONE WEEK AFTER MY INITIAL
SYMPTOMS. AND ONLY HAD A VERY
MILD FEVER AS A SYMPTOM. HE HAD
NONE OF THE OTHER SYMPTOMS THAT
I HAD HAD TWO DAYS LATER, ONE OF
OUR DOGS GOT HER FIRST LESION.
AND THE OTHER SHOWED LESIONS
FIVE DAYS LATER. AND WHILE WE'RE
ON THE MEN, I ALSO HAVE TO
CONTEND WITH SEVERAL LESIONS
BECOMING INFECTED WITH BACTERIAL
INFECTION AS A RESULT OF
MONKEYPOX, AND THIS IS FURTHER
PROLONGED MY SICKNESS. IN
ADDITION TO THE PHYSICAL
AILMENTS, MY FAMILY IS CONCERNED
ABOUT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF
HAVING THIS IN THIS. I'M
CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED AND WE RELY
100% ON MY HUSBAND'S INCOME TO
LIVE ON. HE HAS ALREADY USED UP
ALL OF HIS STICK TIME AND WILL
LIKELY BE FORCED TO GO ON SHORT
TERM DISABILITY TO COVER THE
ADDITIONAL TIME. I'LL WITH THAT
YOU'LL ONLY RECEIVE 60% OF HIS
NORMAL PAY. WE BARELY MAKE ENDS
MEET NOW AND THAT 60% PAY. WE
HAVE NO MEANS OF MEETING OUR
BASIC FINANCIAL NEEDS. I'VE BEEN
FORCED TO TAKE JOB INTERVIEWS
WHILE COPING WITH IT STILL LIST.
RIGHT ALL THE WHILE BEING ON
FAIRLY HIGH DOSES OF OPIATES.
ADDITIONALLY, EXTRA CARE IS
NECESSARY FOR A TWO DOGS WHO ARE
TAKING LONGER TO HEAL. WE HAVE
NO MEANS TO PAY FOR IT. I'M UH.
I'M NOT HERE TO ONLY RELAY WHAT
WE WENT THROUGH ON A PERSONAL
LEVEL, BUT I'M ALSO HERE TO ASK
FOR YOUR HELP TO MOVE THE NEEDLE
FORWARD. WE DEMAND
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE NATIONALS
VACCINE STOCKPILE BEING ALLOWED
TO EXPIRE. WHY WERE THOSE DOSES
NOT SENT TO NIGERIA BEFORE THE
EXPIRATION TO HELP THEM AND
POSSIBLY, UH, STOP, STOP THE NOW
GLOBAL SPREAD. WHY THE 4300
DOSES THAT IN DENMARK FOR MONTHS
WAITING FOR ON SITE APPROVAL BY
OUR GOVERNMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN
OTHER COUNTRIES APPROVED THAT
SITE LAST YEAR. PART OF THE
INCREASE IN MY COMMUNITY IS THE
FACT THAT MONKEY PARK HIT AT THE
BEGINNING OF PRIDE MONTH THAT
HAD VACCINES BEEN AVAILABLE AT
THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH. BY
THE END BY THE TIME THE TWO
LARGEST PRIDE EVENTS HAPPENED,
WHICH IS NEW YORK AND SAN
FRANCISCO, MY COMMUNITY WOULD
HAVE BEEN LESS IMPACTED AND THAT
HAS TO BE TAKEN ACCOUNT AND HAS
NOT BEEN SPOKEN OF TO. POSSIBLY
WHY MY COMPUTER. MY COMMUNITY
HAS ALSO BEEN SO BADLY IMPACTED
. IT WAS THE TIMING IN WHICH IT
HAPPENED. WE NEED BETTER
EDUCATION ON TRANSMISSION THAT
DOESN'T STIGMATIZE THE GAY BY
COMMUNITY. THIS COULD BE
TRANSFERRED, TRANSMITTED THROUGH
BOTH CASUAL AND INTIMATE CONTACT
. ANYBODY WHO'S INFECTED CAN CAN
PASS IT ON TO ANYBODY ELSE. WE
NEED MORE RAPID TESTING WITH
ACCEPTABLE TURNAROUND TIMES,
THREE AT THREE DAYS TO GET A
TEST RESULT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
NOT WHEN YOU'RE IN THE AMOUNT OF
PAIN THAT I WAS IN. UM, THIS
INCLUDES NEW FORMS OF EARLY
DETECTION TESTING THAT DON'T
RELY ON SWABBING LESIONS. AT
THAT POINT, IT'S ALREADY TOO
LATE, THE LIKELIHOOD OF ALREADY
PASSING IT ALONG IS MUCH
GREATER. WE NEED MORE DOSES OF
THE VACCINE AND WE NEED THEM.
NOW THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE THAN
ONE MANUFACTURER OF THE VACCINE
. THIS IS A VACCINE OWNED BY%
THIS COUNTRY. WE PUT $1.8
BILLION INTO THIS VACCINE. ITS
CREATION. WHY IS ONLY ONE
COMPANY MAKING IT FOR US? IT'S
RIDICULOUS. UM HE PACKS
ANTIRETROVIRAL NEEDS EMERGENCY
AUTHORIZATION, SO A DOCTOR CAN
JUST WRITE A PRESCRIPTION THAT
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH A
57 PAGE DOCUMENT IN ORDER TO, UH
TO FOR DOCTORS TO DO THAT, AND
THEN PATIENTS HAVE TO GO ON AND
SIGN A DIGITAL RELEASE. UM FOR
THE MEDICATION, WE NEED BETTER
ACCESS TO ALL FORMS OF TREATMENT
, AND WE NEED EQUAL ACCESS. FOR
ALL WE NEED TO STOP THE
SUFFERING NOW. LASTLY I'M NOT
HERE FOR YOUR SYMPATHY. I'M HERE
FOR BATH AND MEANINGFUL CHANGE.
THANK YOU, SCOTT, SENATOR SCOTT
WIENER AND YOUR STAFF FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK HERE TODAY,
AND I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
MR WATSON. UM THANK YOU FOR
SHARING. UM SO COLLEAGUES, UH,
ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE, UM, FOR
THE WITNESSES ON THIS? PANEL. NO
SENATOR ALLEN JUST WANT TO TAKE
A QUICK MOMENT TO JUST THINK,
THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR
TESTIMONY, AND SO IT'S REALLY
DOES DRIVE HOME. HOW AT RISK
EVERYBODY IS AND HOW MUCH OUR
SYSTEM HAS FAILED AND HOW MUCH
WE NEED TO BOTH INFORM OURSELVES
AS POLICYMAKERS PUSH THOSE
RESPONSIBLE, AND THOSE ABLE TO
HOW TO ADDRESS THE SYSTEMIC
ISSUES THAT WERE JUST RAISED BY
THE LAST WITNESS, AND I JUST
VERY COMPELLING TESTIMONY AND I
APPRECIATE PEOPLE'S WILLINGNESS
TO SHARE SUCH SUCH PERSONAL
INFORMATION TO HELP MAKE THIS
POLICYMAKING RESPONSE STRONGER.
GREAT. THANK YOU, CINDERELLA.
OKAY? COUSIN WE WILL MOVE TO. I
WANT TO THANK THANK THE
WITNESSES. WE REALLY APPRECIATE
YOUR TIME AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO
MOVE TO OUR SECOND PANEL, WHICH
IS THE COUNTY LEVEL PUBLIC
HEALTH RESPONSE. WE WILL BE
JOINED BY DR GRANT COLFAX, WHO'S
THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH FOR THE
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
MOON TO DAVIS, WHO WAS THE
COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER. UM
PHYSICIAN ALSO IN THE COUNTY
HEALTH OFFICER FOR THE LOS
ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC HEALTH. UM KIMBERLY
SARAH. ATARI I I'M SURE I JUST
PUT YOUR NAME AND I APOLOGIZE.
UM THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH
, UM, FOR RIVERSIDE COUNTY AND
ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ, WHO IS THE
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH
SERVICES, UH, IN FOR SAN DIEGO
COUNTY. SO WE WELCOME OUR, UM
AND THEN ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE
WON'T BE TESTIFYING BUT WILL BE
AVAILABLE FOR QUESTION AND
ANSWER. OLIVER DR OLIVER BACON,
WHO IS AT SAN FRANCISCO CITY
CLINIC, UM, SO WE'LL PUT UP OUR
TESTIFYING. WITNESSES WILL START
WITH DR GRANT COLFAX FROM SAN
FRANCISCO. THAT'S OUR COLFAX
WELCOME. WELL, THANK YOU,
SENATOR. CHAIR WIENER AND I
REALLY WANT TO. I THINK THE
ENTIRE SELECT COMMITTEE FOR THIS
OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT MONKEY
POX AND WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE
LOCAL LEVEL AND OUR NEEDS. I DO
WANT TO SHARE FOR A MOMENT. THAT
IS, UM GAY MAN WHO CAME OUT BOTH
PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY
DURING THE PEAK OF THE HIV
EPIDEMIC. I HAD FIRSTHAND
EXPERIENCE WITH REGARD TO THE
STIGMA, DISCRIMINATION AND
HOMOPHOBIA THAT PUBLIC HEALTH
SYSTEMS AND MEDICAL SYSTEMS, UH
IN TERMS OF THEIR RESPONSE TO
CERTAIN DISEASES. SAN FRANCISCO
WAS DIFFERENT WITH REGARD TO HIV
FOR THE MOST PART, AND HERE IN
SAN FRANCISCO ONCE AGAIN AS WE
FACE THE MONKEY POX. AH EPIDEMIC
WE ARE FOCUSED ON ENSURING THAT
PEOPLE AT RISK MOST OF RISK FOR
MONKEYPOX HAVE ACCESS TO
CULTURALLY CONGRUENT EDUCATION.
UM TESTING SERVICES AND, OF
COURSE, THE VACCINE IN SAN
FRANCISCO ON THIS, ESPECIALLY
WITH REGARD TO MEN WHO HAVE SEX
WITH MEN, INCLUDING GAY MEN AND
TRANSMIT AT A FEW SITES THAT I'D
LIKE TO RUN THROUGH. FIRST SIDE,
PLEASE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO
WE IN SAN FRANCISCO, UM, WE HAVE
DIAGNOSED 36% OF THE TOTAL CASES
IN CALIFORNIA AGAIN, DESPITE THE
FACT THAT WE ARE A CITY WITH A
POPULATION OF 800,000 PEOPLE
NEARLY OVER A THIRD OF THE TOTAL
CASES. AS OF YESTERDAY ARE
KENTUCKY'S NUMBERS WERE FOR
THEM. 72 THAT'S ACTUALLY AS OF
THIS AFTERNOON IS JUST RISEN TO
501. WE ARE SEEING MONKEYPOX
JUST PROPORTIONATELY, UM,
DISTRIBUTED TO THE LATINO
POPULATION WITH 28% OF CASES
AMONG THE LATINO RIGHT NEXT
POPULATION CAN CARE TO THE
POPULATION MAKEUP OF SAN
FRANCISCO IN GENERAL, THAT IS
JUST ABOUT 16% OF THE SAN
FRANCISCO POPULATION. OF THE
NEARLY 80% OF CASES WHO
DISCLOSED THEIR SEXUAL
ORIENTATION. 95% OF CASES ARE
AMONG GAY, BISEXUAL AND OTHER
MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN. AND
YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCRAP HERE.
THE PATTERNS OF DETECTION OF
NUMBER OF CASES OF MONKEYPOX
OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS NEXT
SLIDE. IN RESPONSE TO THE
ONGOING LOCAL SITUATION. DOCTORS
IS AND PHILLIP ARE HEALTH
OFFICER AND WITH SUPPORT OF MERE
BREED AND THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND SENATOR WIENER
DID DECLARED A PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY WITH REGARD TO MONKEY
POX IN SAN FRANCISCO. THIS
ACTION HIGHLIGHTED THE NEED FOR
HAVING EVERYBODY IN THE UM.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO RESPOND AS
APPROPRIATE, EXPEDITES AND
STREAMLINES THE AVAILABLE
RESOURCES TO BETTER RESPOND.
INCREASED AWARENESS OF THE
DISEASE IN THE POPULATION AND
ALLOWS US TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE AT
THE LOCAL LEVEL AND OUR RESPONSE
AND IF AND WHEN MORE STATE AND
FEDERAL RESOURCES COME TO BEAR
AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, WE WILL BE
ABLE TO HARNESS THEM MORE
RAPIDLY. AND POTENTIALLY DRAW
DOWN FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF
EXPENSES THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY
INCURRING THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY
IN OUR BUDGET NEXT SLIDE. WE'VE
DONE LOTS OF OUTREACH AND
EDUCATION STRATEGIES. IT'S A
MULTIPRONGED STRATEGY. YOU SEE
THE MANY ACTIVITIES THAT ARE
GOING ON HERE IN AT THE LOCAL
LEVEL FROM COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO
PRESENT AT FESTIVALS AND STREET
FAIRS TO FIRE IT AND INFORMATION
DISTRIBUTION. YOU SEE HERE ON
THE RIGHT OF THIS SLIDE AND
EDUCATIONAL A FIRE THAT AGAIN IS
AVAILABLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS
WELL ON HIS HARD COPY, AND YOU
CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE
MESSAGES AGAIN. THESE HAVE BEEN
DEVELOPED IN CONSULTATION WITH
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS
AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, MOST AT
RISK FROM MONKEY POX. NEXT
SLIDE. IN TERMS OF GETTING THE
WORD OUT. NEARLY 7000 EMAILS
HAVE BEEN SENT TO COMMUNITY
BASED ORGANIZATIONS WHO AGAIN WE
ARE PARTNERING WITH FIRES HAVE
BEEN DISTRIBUTED. WE'VE DONE
MORE THAN 30 COMMUNITY
PRESENTATIONS, CLOSE PARTNERSHIP
WITH MANY COMMUNITY BASED
ORGANIZATIONS AND CLEANING SAN
FRANCISCO AIDS FOUNDATION. I
UNDERSTAND THEY WILL BE
PRESENTING LATER TODAY VERY WELL
ATTENDED. UM ONE OF THE
ADVANTAGES IN THIS WORLD ZOOM IN
TEAMS. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE CAN
JOIN AND HAVE THEIR QUESTIONS
ANSWERED. BUT WE ALSO UNDERSTAND
THAT NOT EVERYBODY WILL EMPLOY
ON THOSE TOOLS TO GET
INFORMATION, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE
DOING MANY OTHER THINGS AS WELL
AGAIN AS AS DESCRIBED ON THIS
SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE. BEEN WORKING
CONTINUALLY WITH COMMUNITY
PARTNERS THE PARTNERSHIPS,
ESPECIALLY WITH COMMUNITY BASED
ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE HIV
SERVICES, EITHER TREATMENT OR
PREVENTION SERVICES BECAUSE OF
THE OVERLAP OF THE POPULATIONS,
MOST AT RISK AND AFFECTED WITH
HIV WITH MONKEYPOX WATER FOCUS
ON WORKING WITH BIPOD
POPULATIONS TO ENSURE EQUITABLE
ACCESS TO VACCINE BY OFFERING
PRIORITIZED APPOINTMENTS, AND
YOU HEARD SENATOR RINO TALKED
ABOUT IN SAN FRANCISCO. WE'RE
ENSURING THAT SOME THAT
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS
GET Q R CODES TO GIVE PEOPLE AT
HIGHEST RISK SO THAT THERE IS
MORE READILY, UH, THEY CAN MAKE
APPOINTMENTS FOR VACCINE IN A
MORE EQUITABLE AND EFFICIENT WAY
THAN, UH THAN, UH, ALTERNATIVELY
, STANDING IN LINE AS A DROP ON
CLIENT, WE REALLY TAKEN A
FLEXIBLE APPROACH TO OFFERING
VACCINES, BOTH WITH APPOINTMENTS
. HANDS WERE DROPPING
APPOINTMENTS BECAUSE WE'VE HEARD
FROM COMMUNITY THAT THAT MIX WAS
VERY IMPORTANT. WE'VE HAD
ONGOING SURVEYS AND
BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS TO GATHER
INFORMATION FROM POPULATIONS
ABOUT HOW TO AFFECT HOW TO MOVE
FORWARD. WE ARE CONSTANTLY
LEARNING AND EVOLVING AND BEING
AS FLEXIBLE AS WE CAN BE IN OUR
RESPONSE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF
THE COMMUNITY, WHO AGAIN NEED
THE EDUCATION ON THE TESTING,
AND, OF COURSE, THE VACCINE NEXT
LINE. IN TERMS OF TESTING AND
VACCINE. SAN FRANCISCO WE
CURRENTLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO
VACCINATE, UH, 3000 PEOPLE PER
DAY OVER 15 VACCINE SITES THAT
ARE LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE CITY,
INCLUDING THAT ZUCKERBERG SAN
FRANCISCO HOSPITAL WE ALREADY
HEARD FROM DR JANE SAN FRANCISCO
CITY CLINIC OR DOCTOR OLIVER TO
DR BACON, WHO IS HERE TO ANSWER
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT
HAVE ABOUT CLINICAL WORK THAT
WE'RE DOING AS WELL AS OUR G PH
. ADULT IMMUNIZATION CLINIC AND
STRUCK WHICH IS OTHER CLINIC
THAT'S RUN THROUGH THE SAN
FRANCISCO AIDS FOUNDATION. WE
HAVE ADMINISTERED CLOSE TO
12,000 VACCINE DOSES, BUT WE
NEED 150,000 DOSES TO FULLY
VACCINATE THE INDIVIDUALS AT
HIGHEST RISK FOR INFECTION IN
SAN FRANCISCO, AND WE HAVE
CONSISTENTLY RUN OUT OF VACCINE
EARLY IN THE WEEK WHEN WE GET
OUR SHIPMENTS AS A SENATOR
MENTIONED, WE DID RECEIVE 10,700
VACCINES AS OUR LATEST SHIPMENT
, WHICH IS A POSITIVE
DEVELOPMENT, BUT REALLY, WE NEED
SO MUCH MORE VACCINE TO MEET,
UH, MEET THE DEMAND RIGHT NOW.
IN TERMS OF OUR CAPACITY TO TEST
OUR LOCAL LAB HERE IN THIS
BUILDING HAS THE ABILITY TO TEST
90 TEST PER DAY AND HAS A
RELATIVELY SHORT TURNAROUND TIME
. UM AND TODAY HAS PROCESSED
MORE THAN 600 TESTS, BUT WE ALSO
COULD USE MORE TESTING CAPACITY
SIDE. IN TERMS OF ADVANCING
EQUITY AND CURVING STIGMA AGAIN
. WE'RE TAKING AN EQUITY RIGHTS
AND EVIDENCE BASED APPROACH.
ACTIVELY COUNTERING STIGMA,
REALLY MAKING SURE THAT THAT
FROM THE BEGINNING IS PART OF
OUR MESSAGING AROUND EDUCATION
AND PREVENTION EFFORTS, UH, TO
BE ACTIVE OUTREACH TO THOSE
DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY
MONKEYPOX, INCLUDING THOSE WHO
ARE UNINSURED OR WHO EXPERIENCE
HISTORICAL AND EQUITY INEQUITIES
WITH REGARD TO ACCESS TO
SERVICES. AND, OF COURSE,
BUILDING OUR LESSONS LEARNED NOT
ONLY FROM HIV, BUT MOST RECENTLY
FROM KOBE. NEXT SLIDE. WHAT WE
NEED IS WHAT YOU'VE HEARD. UM
ALREADY, I THINK FROM PANEL
MEMBERS, WE NEED MORE VACCINE.
OBVIOUSLY I THINK THIS RECENT
DEVELOPMENT ABOUT THE FDA
APPROVING AN INTRADERMAL VACCINE
IS PROMISING THAT WILL TAKE A
LOT OF TRAINING AND OVERSIGHT
AND QUALITY CONTROL. THAT SHOT
IS HARDER TO GET THAN THE
CURRENT WAY THAT THE VACCINE IS
MINISTERED. MORE SUPPORT FOR
COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT
RESOURCES DATA, ENSURING THAT
AND THAT AT THE STATE LEVEL
THEY'RE MORE ROBUST DATA SYSTEMS
THAT ARE SUPPORTED SO WE CAN
PROVIDE BETTER CONTEXTUAL DATA
TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
TEAPOTS ACCESS. I THINK YOU'VE
HEARD A LOT ABOUT THIS, BUT
WE'RE ALSO SEEING THIS AT EVEN
IN SAN FRANCISCO, WHERE WE HAVE
A RELATIVELY ROBUST SYSTEM OF
WRITERS AND HEALTHCARE AND OVER
95% OF OUR POPULATION IS ENSURED
. THIS IS A REAL PROBLEM. NOT
ONLY ARE LARGE CLINICS BUT ALSO
FOR SMALL PROVIDERS WHO SIMPLY
DON'T HAVE THE ADMINISTRATIVE
SUPPORT OR BANDWIDTH TO SPEND,
UM, A HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME GOING
THROUGH PAPERWORK IN ORDER TO
GET SOMEBODY TREATMENT,
INEFFICIENT WAY AND THEN
STAFFING SUPPORT FOR STAFFING TO
ADMINISTER AT HIGH VOLUME SITES
AND THE FLUCTUATING SUPPLY CHAIN
OF VACCINE. THE FACT THAT WE DO
NOT KNOW I DO NOT KNOW SPEAKING
TO YOU TODAY WHAT OUR NEXT
SHIPMENT OF VACCINE WILL BE,
MAKES IT INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING
TO STAFF. APPROPRIATELY MAKE
APPOINTMENTS AND FIGURE OUT THE
BALANCE BETWEEN DROPPING
APPOINTMENTS AND THE Q R CODES
THAT WE NEED TO GIVE TO PEOPLE
WHO ARE HIGHEST RISK. SO UM, I
BELIEVE THAT'S THE END OF MY
SIDE. I MY SLIDES. I REALLY
APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY
PRESENTED AGAIN. THANK YOU FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY AND YOUR
LEADERSHIP IS HOLDING THIS
HEARING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
WILL NOW GO TO DR DAVIS, THE
COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER FOR LOS
ANGELES COUNTY. THANK YOU.
COMMITTEE CHAIR, WIENER AND
HONORABLE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH
YOU TODAY ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCE
REGARDING THE MONKEY POX
EMERGENCY IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
AGAIN. I'M DR MONTE DAVIS, THE
LOS ANGELES COUNTY HEALTH
OFFICER HERE AT THE PUBLIC
HEALTH DEPARTMENT. AND AS YOU
KNOW, THIS IS NOT A TIME OF
BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR LOCAL
HEALTH JURISDICTION. CURRENTLY
MANY OF US FIND OURSELVES
SHIFTING RESOURCES AND
PRIORITIES TO ONE MAINTAIN A
RESPONSIVE FOR CORE PUBLIC
HEALTH FUNCTIONS. AS WELL AS
SUSTAINED, SUSTAINED AND ONGOING
COVID 19 RESPONSE AND TO MOUNT A
ROBUST RESPONSE TO MONKEY POX.
AND DOING THIS WORK HAS REQUIRED
SUPPORT FROM A MYRIAD OF
PARTNERS, INCLUDING OUR LOCAL
LEADERS, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED
ARE LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS RATIFIED THE
PROCLAMATION OF LOCAL EMERGENCY
FROM MONKEY POX, WHICH WILL
ALLOW THE COUNTY TO REQUEST AND
UTILIZE ADDITIONAL LOCAL AND
STATE RESOURCES AND STAFFING TO
SUPPORT OUR ONGOING EFFORTS.
IT'S ALSO REQUIRED SUPPORT FROM
OUR DIVERSE PARTNERS IN THE
RESPONSE, INCLUDING COMMUNITY
BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE
THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, AS
WELL AS HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND
FEDERAL AND STATE PARTNERS THAT
LEND THEIR VOICE AFTER AND TIME
AND RESOURCES TO THE RESPONSE.
IN ADDITION, OUR STAFF, MANY OF
WHICH ARE PLAYING DUAL ROLES,
BOTH TO MONKEY POX AND COVID
HAVE LED EFFORTS AND
INITIATIVES, PARTNERSHIPS
RELATIONSHIP VARIOUS FACETS OF
OUR MOVIE POPS RESPONSE,
INCLUDING TEXTING, VACCINATIONS
, OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS.
AND WITH THAT IN MIND, YOU KNOW
HAPPY TO DISCUSS L, A COUNTY'S
LOCAL SITUATION IN OUR RESPONSE
AND SOME CHALLENGES WE FACE.
I'LL TAKE THE SLIDES AND YOU CAN
GO TO THE SECOND ONE, PLEASE. UM
AS OF YESTERDAY WE HAD 616 CASES
OF MONKEYPOX IDENTIFIED IN THE
LA COUNTY TODAY. THAT NUMBER HAS
GONE UP TO 647 NOT INCLUDING THE
LOCAL HEALTH JURISDICTIONS OF
LONG BEACH IN THE CITY OF
PASADENA. UM THAT NUMBER IS
ACTUALLY DOUBLE THE CASES THAT
WE HAD JUST 10 DAYS AGO. UH AND
AS OUR TWO LOCAL CITY HEALTH
DEPARTMENTS, UM, LONG BEACH IS
REPORTED 29 CASES AND PASADENA
HAS REPORTED FOUR CASES. THE
DEMOGRAPHICS ON OUR CASES ARE
PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS WHAT'S
BEING SEEN AROUND THE WORLD ARE
MEDIAN AGE IS ABOUT 35 YEARS.
HOWEVER WE DID HAVE ONE CASE
BELOW 19 YEARS OF AGE. WHICH IS
IN ADDITION TO THE PEDIATRIC
CASE, REPORTED BY THE CITY OF
LONG BEACH LAST WEEK ABOUT 30%
OF OUR CASES REPORT DOMESTIC OR
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, WHICH
INDICATES THAT MOST CASES ARE
COMING FROM LOCAL TRANSMISSION,
AS YOU'VE HEARD EARLIER FROM
OTHER PANELISTS REPORTING THEIR
EXPERIENCE WITH IT. ABOUT 12
HOSPITALIZATIONS AMONG PERSONS
WITH MONKEYPOX HAVE OCCURRED IN
OUR JURISDICTION. MOST HAVE BEEN
DUE TO MINOR COMPLICATIONS FROM
MONKEY POX QUARTER TREAT PAIN IN
TERMS OF PAIN MANAGEMENT. BUT IN
GENERAL, YOU KNOW WE ARE SEEING
A SIMILAR DISTRIBUTION OF CASES
, AS OTHERS ARE SEEING WITH
NEARLY ALL OF OUR CASES AMONG
MEN WHO IDENTIFY AS GAY,
BISEXUAL OR QUEER, UH AND 38% OF
CASES ARE RIGHT. 34% LATIN X AND
11% FOR BLACK, UM AND AS
MENTIONED, UM THE PEDIATRIC
CASES OF WHICH WE DON'T PROVIDE
INFORMATION ON BUT IT DOES
HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW
YOU CAN'T HAVE MONKEYPOX BE
SPREAD AND EXPERIENCED BY
ANYONE. ANY AGE AND ANY GENDER,
SEXUAL ORIENTATION, RACE OR
ETHNICITY. UM WE ALSO HAVE BEEN
WORKING. OF COURSE, AS THIS VERY
LARGE POPULATED AND DIVERSITY,
JURISDICTION OF OVER 10 MILLION
TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE
VACCINATIONS READILY AVAILABLE
ACROSS THE 4000 SQUARE MILES
THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COUNTY. UH
AND THEY ARE REALLY ACROSS THE
COUNTY, BOTH AS A MIXTURE OF OUR
PUBLIC HEALTH SITES. AS WELL AS
OUR LOCATIONS FROM COMMUNITY
PROVIDERS SPECIFICALLY WHO CAN
REACH IN OUR SERVICING THE
POPULATIONS AT HIGHEST RISK AT
THE MOMENT. UM NOW THAT YOU HAVE
SORT OF A SENSE OF WHAT WE'RE
SEEING, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF
OUR LOCAL RESPONSE STRATEGIES,
WE REALLY HAVE BEEN MAKING SURE
THAT PROVIDERS UNDERSTAND YOU TO
TEST HOW TO GET ACCESS TO
TESTING OUR LOCAL COUNTY PUBLIC
HEALTH LAB IS DOING TESTING AS
WELL IN ADDITION TO OUR
COMMERCIAL LABS, BUT OFTEN
PROVIDERS HAVE THEIR ESTABLISHED
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE
COMMERCIAL MARRIAGE LABS THAT
CAN DO MONKEYPOX TESTING AND WE
MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S
NEEDED IN TERMS OF THAT, IN
ADDITION TO IF THEY NEED TO DO
SOMETHING WITH OUR LAB. WE HAVE
A LOT OF CALLING NUMBER FOR THEM
TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO GET TESTING
AND REQUEST ACCESS TO TESTING IN
OUR LAND. WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER
OF RESOURCES FOR PROVIDERS TO
CALL WITH QUESTIONS WHETHER IT'S
RELATED TO TESTING TREATMENT OR
VACCINATION AND WERE AVAILABLE
TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AS
WELL. TODAY OUR PUBLIC HEALTH
LABORATORIES CONDUCTED, YOU
KNOW, TESTING FOR OVER 350
SUSPECT CASES. AND WE'LL
CONTINUE TO PROVIDE TESTING FOR
PRIVATE PROVIDERS WHO ARE UNABLE
TO SEND SPECIMENS TO COMMERCIAL
LABS IN PATIENTS WITHOUT A
HEALTHCARE PROVIDER OR HEALTH
INSURANCE CAN CALL 211 FOR A
REFERRAL, OR THEY CAN VISIT THE
OUR PUBLIC HEALTH, A PUBLIC
HEALTH SEXUAL HEALTH CLINIC IN
ORDER TO GET ACCESS TO, YOU
KNOW, IN THE VALUATION. UH HUH.
AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE
ELIGIBLE OR IF IT'S LIKELY THAT
THEY MIGHT HAVE MONKEY POX. UM
WITH ALL THIS ASSESSING
CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE FACED,
UM YOU KNOW, WE IDENTIFIED OUR
FIRST PRESUMPTIVE CASE ON JUNE
2ND, UH, AND THE CHALLENGES WERE
LIMITED IN TERMS OF THE LIMITED
RE AGENTS AND TESTING CAPACITY.
FORTUNATELY UM, YOU KNOW, WE
WERE ABLE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH
THE CDC TO GET THE SUPPLIES THAT
WE NEEDED LOCALLY FOR OUR LAB.
BUT AS MORE COMMERCIAL LABS HAVE
COME ON, THAT IS REALLY HELPED.
IN TERMS OF EXPANDING ACCESS TO
TESTING. UM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH
DEPARTMENT NORMALLY DOES WITH
INFECTIOUS DISEASES. YOU KNOW,
WE DO DO CONTACT TRACING. YOU
HAVE CONTINUED TO DO SO IN OUR
COMMUNITY FIELD SERVICES TEAMS
HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING ROBUST
INTERVIEWS WITH ALL CASES TO
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PLACES
THEY'VE BEEN AND THE PEOPLE THEY
MAY HAVE BEEN AROUND WHILE THEY
WERE INFECTIOUS IN ORDER TO
NOTIFY IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY
TO NOTIFY CLOSE CONTACTS. AND
ENSURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT
THEY MAY BE AT RISK AND TO TRY
TO GET THEM VACCINATION IF THEY
ARE HAVE HAD A HIGH RISK CONTACT
WITH SOMEONE WHO IS SUSPECTED OF
OR DOES HAVE MONKEY POX. WE ARE
CHALLENGED, THOUGH WE HAVE
INSUFFICIENT STAFFING FOR
CONTACT, TRACING TO IDENTIFY
CLOSE CONTACTS AND OTHERS AT
RISK. JUST WITH THE SPLITTING OF
DUTIES AS WELL AS OUR NORMAL
FUNCTIONS, AND WE HAVE REQUESTED
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM THE
STATE FOR CONTACT TRACERS AS
WELL AS VACCINATORS AND
APPRECIATE THE STATE'S EMERGENCY
PROCLAMATION TO FREE UP
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, AND THESE
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WILL BE
NECESSARY TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING
THE COUNTY'S VACCINATION PODS,
ESPECIALLY AS CASES CONTINUE TO
GROW UP AND MORE THAN LIKELY THE
ELIGIBILITY FOR VACCINATION WILL
START TO WIPE. UM AS WE THINK
ABOUT VACCINATION AS WELL. WE'VE
TAKEN A SIMILAR APPROACH AT THE
VACCINATION AS WE HAVE IN OUR
COVID RESPONSE. AND WHILE OUR
COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH HAS
ADMINISTERED DOSES THROUGH ITS
OWN PUBLIC HEALTH CLINICS AND
POD SITES, IF ALSO WORKED TO
CREATE AN EXPENSIVE NETWORK OF
VACCINATION PROVIDERS INCLUDING
THOSE, UM YOU KNOW, WE HAVE
THOSE IN THOSE LOCATIONS THAT
YOU'VE SEEN THAT YOU CAN SEE ON
OUR MAP ON OUR WEBSITE. UM, AND
AT THIS POINT, WE'VE BEEN
ADMINISTERING THE VACCINATIONS
AT AT LEAST 56 DIFFERENT
LOCATIONS IN THE COUNTY,
INITIALLY, ALL BY INVITATIONS
AND APPOINTMENT ONLY, INCLUDING
OUR DPH CLINICS, ARPAD SITES. AS
WELL AS MOBILE POP UP SITES. AND
LAST WEEK WE ALSO LAUNCHED A POP
UP VACCINATION SITE IN WEST
HOLLYWOOD FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH
APPOINTMENTS, AND THIS WEEK WE
OPENED UP SITES IN SILVER LAKE
AND HOLLYWOOD AND PARTNERSHIP
WITH THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES.
THERE ARE ALSO 43 NON DPH
PROVIDERS OFFERING VACCINE USE
VACCINATION PRIMARILY TO THEIR
PATIENTS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT
IS DEFINITELY NEEDED. IT
SHOULDN'T ALL BE PUBLIC SITES
FOR VACCINATION BECAUSE MANY DO
WANT TO GO TO THEIR PROVIDERS
AND GET THEIR ASSESSMENTS OR ASK
QUESTIONS, AND THEY FEEL MOST
COMFORTABLE WITH THEM. AND SO
THAT IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE
IN NEED, AS WE CONTINUE TO
VACCINATE ALONG THE WAY. OUR
COMMUNITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
PARTNERS ARE ALSO FACING
CHALLENGES RELATED TO LOW OR
INSUFFICIENT REIMBURSEMENT FOR
VACCINE ADMINISTRATION. AND AS
WE KNOW, COMMUNITY PROVIDERS
HAVE STEPPED UP TO SUPPORT
VACCINATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS
, BUT THEIR PARTICIPATION WILL
NOT BE SUSTAINABLE WITHOUT
RESOURCES. SO ANY EFFORTS TO
ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES WOULD
ALSO HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THE L
G B T Q. PLUS COMMUNITY'S
CONCERNS THAT OUR COLLECTIVE
PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE IS NOT
WORKING QUICKLY ENOUGH TO MEET
THE VACCINATION RELATED NEEDS
FOR THEIR COMMUNITY. UM IN TERMS
OF VACCINE ELIGIBILITY AS WELL
AS THE VACCINE ALLOCATIONS. WE
USE THE SAME FORMULAS AND
ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE WORKING
WITH THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND
THE CITY OF PASADENA IN TERMS OF
ENSURING THEY HAVE SUPPLIES OF
VACCINATIONS THAT ARE IN LINE
WITH ALL OTHER CALCULATIONS THAT
ARE USED FOR THE ALLOCATION
PROCESS. WE ALSO WORK VERY
CLOSELY WITH BOTH THOSE HEALTH
DEPARTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT OUR
RESPONSES AND OUR ELIGIBILITY
CRITERIA ARE VERY SIMILAR, IF
NOT THE SAME BASED ON LOCAL
NEEDS AS WELL. SO WE WORK VERY
CLOSELY WITH THEM. TO ENSURE
THAT IN GENERAL, NO MATTER WHERE
YOU ARE IN L, A COUNTY UM YOUR
UNDERSTANDING AND ACCESS IS
ESSENTIALLY THE SAME IN TERMS OF
WHO'S AT RISK AS WELL AS WHO
SHOULD BE TESTED, AS WELL AS WHO
IS ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR VACCINATION
. UM I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT, UM
YOU KNOW THE MONKEY BACK VACCINE
CURRENTLY IN L. A COUNTY IS
AVAILABLE TO GET YOUR BISEXUAL
MEN AND TRANSGENDER PERSONS. 18
YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER WHO HAVE
HAD MULTIPLE OR ANONYMOUS SEX
PARTNERS IN THE LAST 14 DAYS,
INCLUDING ENGAGING IN SURVIVAL
AND INTRODUCTION. TRANSACTIONAL
SEX, INCLUDING MEANING SEX IN
EXCHANGE FOR SHELTER OR FOOD OR
OTHER GOODS AND NEEDS, UH AND WE
ALSO HAVE RESIDENTS WHO MEET THE
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA THAT WE HAD
BEFORE. IN TERMS OF BEING
DIAGNOSED WITH GONORRHEA OR
EARLY, SELFLESS WITHIN THE PAST
, 12 MONTHS ARE ON HIV PRE
EXPOSURE PROFILE AXIS OR PREP OR
WHO ARE ATTENDED OR WORKED AT A
COMMERCIAL SEX VENUE OR OTHER
VENUE WHERE THEY HAD ANONYMOUS
PARTNERS WITHIN THE PAST, 21
DAYS, WE ARE PRIORITIZING
RESIDENTS WHO ARE IMMUNO
SUPPRESSED, INCLUDING THOSE WITH
ADVANCED OR UNCONTROLLED HIV, AS
THEY MAY BE AT HIGH RISK FOR
SEVERE DISEASE AS WELL.
ADDITIONALLY RESIDENTS AGAIN WHO
DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE
INTERNET OR NEED RESOURCES TO
GET ACCESS TO VACCINE CAN CALL
OUR CALL CENTER, WHICH IS
STAFFED UP SEVEN DAYS A WEEK
FROM EIGHT AM TO 8:30 P.M. IN
MULTIPLE LANGUAGES IN ORDER TO
GET ASSISTANCE IN GENERAL, WE
HAVE RECEIVED OVER 43,000 DOSES
OF THE GENIUS VACCINE FROM THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DIRECTLY AS
MENTIONED. AND IN TOTAL, WE'VE
DISTRIBUTED NEARLY 41,000 DOSES
TO THE NETWORK OF PROVIDERS
MENTIONED EARLIER AND TOGETHER
WE HAVE ADMINISTERED OVER 28,000
DOSES AND ANTICIPATE THAT OVER
90% OF THOSE DOSES WILL BE
ADMINISTERED BY THE END OF THIS
WEEK, AND THE PERCENTAGE OF
DOSES RECEIVED THAT WE'VE
ADMINISTERED JUST WITH THE
69,000. THERE'S ABOUT 65% ARE A
LITTLE OVER THAT UM, WE, UH DO
YOU HAVE ABOUT 10,000 DOSES THAT
HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO OVER 40
COMMUNITY CLINICS AND HOSPITALS
, OF WHICH 57% OF THE DOSES HAVE
BEEN ADMINISTERED. WE'RE
CONTINUALLY WORKING WITH THESE
PROVIDERS TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES
, ASSESS ADMINISTRATION DATA AND
REDISTRIBUTE DOSES ACCORDINGLY,
IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE
GETTING OUT. AND INTO THE ARMS
OF THOSE THAT THEY NEED TO GET
INTO AT THIS MOMENT HAVE
CONTINUED OUR OUTREACH AND
ENGAGEMENT FROM THE BEGINNING.
UH AND WORKING WITH THOSE
COMMUNITIES AT HIGHEST RISK OF
BY ENSURING THAT THERE IS TIMELY
, ACCURATE, ACCESSIBLE AND
CONSISTENT AND COMPREHENSIVE
IMMIGRATION INFORMATION
DISSEMINATED TO TARGET AUDIENCES
AND THE PUBLIC AT LARGE. BOTH
UNDERSTAND WHO'S AT HIGHEST
RISK, BUT YOU ALSO UNDERSTAND
THAT ANYONE COULD BE AT RISK IF
THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH
SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED
WITH OR IS SUSPECTED OF HAVING
MONKEYPOX. THIS INFORMATION IS
NOT ONLY ABOUT GENERALLY ABOUT
WHAT MONKEYPOX IS AND HOW IT'S
TRANSMITTED BUT ALSO HAS TO DO
WITH TESTING, TREATMENT AND
VACCINATION. AND WE HOLD REGULAR
TOWN HALLS AND UPDATES WITH WITH
KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND
REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE LGBTQ
PLUS COMMUNITY GROUPS, ENSURING
THAT WE HAVE AN OPEN AND
CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION AND GET
VALUABLE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND
INPUT. WE'VE ALSO CONTINUED TO
FIGHT AND AMPLIFIED MESSAGING
AGAINST STIGMA, AS HAS BEEN
MENTIONED BY OTHERS AS WELL.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH CLINICAL
STAFF IN THE L. A COUNTY JAIL
SYSTEM TO PROVIDE VACCINES TO
PEOPLE IN HIGH RISK COHORTS
WITHIN THE JAIL SYSTEM AND
WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO PROVIDE
INFORMATION AND VACCINES TO PEE.
EXPERIENCE. HOMELESS. AND HIGH
RISK POPULAR. THROUGH COMMUNITY
BASED ORGANIZATIONS. THANK YOU.
AND I'LL STOP. AND I KNOW THAT
WE'RE PROB. AT TIME. BUT THANK
YOU. MUCH FOR ME TO SPEAK. YOU,
DOCTOR. AND I AM SORRY FOR I'M
SURE BUTCHERING YOUR NAME. MAYBE
I GOT IT RIGHT THAT TIME FROM
RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC HEALTH. GREAT. THANK YOU.
HONORABLE CHAIR AND NO WORRIES
ON MY LAST NAME. IT'S THOROUGH
WITH SORRY, BUT, UM, IF YOU CAN
BELIEVE IT, I MARRIED INTO THAT
SO AND ALSO. TO THINK THE
COMMITTEE. I AM REALLY EXCITED
TO SHARE ABOUT OUR LOCAL HEALTH
DEPARTMENTS EXPERIENCE IN
RESPONDING TO MONKEY POX. I ALSO
WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO THANK
YOU FOR RECOGNIZING OUR LOCAL
PUBLIC HEALTH HEROES WHO WERE ON
THE FRONT LINE FIGHTING TO
PROTECT US ALL FROM VERY PUBLIC
HEALTH THREAT. BY DEDICATING
NEARLY $300 MILLION ANNUALLY,
STARTING WITH THIS YEAR'S BUDGET
, CALIFORNIA CAN FINALLY BEGIN
TO REVERSE DECADES OF
DISINVESTMENT THAT IS LEFT AND
CONTINUES TO LEAVE TOO MANY
COMMUNITIES VULNERABLE. THE 200
MILLION EARMARKED FOR LOCAL
PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS WILL
GO A LONG WAY TO ADDRESS LOCAL
WORKFORCE CHALLENGES, BUT WE
KNOW THAT OUR NEEDS ARE MUCH
GREATER. IN THE CURRENT
SITUATION WE FIND OURSELVES IN
WITH MONKEYPOX. CLEARLY
DEMONSTRATES HOW THE WORK OF
PUBLIC HEALTH NEVER CEASES. LIKE
MANY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS
THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH HAS SEEN
ITS SHARE OF CHALLENGES WITH
MONKEYPOX. AND THE GROWING
SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. THOSE
CHALLENGES INCLUDE LIMITED
TESTING CAPACITY TO FIGHT RECENT
IMPROVEMENT. THEY'RE SEXY TO
PLAY ACROSS THE NATION AND
LEAVING RIVERSIDE WITH AN
ALLOCATION OF VACCINE IS NOT
EVEN COME CLOSE TO MEETING OUR
DEMANDS. A LIMITED NUMBER OF
PROVIDERS PROVIDING TREATMENT
FOR THOSE INFECTED WITH THE
VIRUS. AND ALMOST NO FUNDING
SPECIFICALLY ALLOCATED TO THAT
MONKEY PUMPS. IN RIVERSIDE
COUNTY. WE HAVE 70 CONFIRMED OR
PROBABLECASES IN ADDITIONAL
CASES CURRENTLY UNDER
INVESTIGATION. ALMOST ALL OF
THEM ARE REPORTED IN THE GREATER
PALM SPRINGS AREA OF THE BUSHEL
A BALANCE LIKE NATIONALLY,
NEARLY ALL RIVERSIDE COUNTY
INFECTIONS INVOLVED MEN WHO HAVE
SEX WITH ME. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE
SEEN CASES REPORTED ELSEWHERE
INVOLVING WOMEN AND INDIVIDUALS
YOUNGER THAN 18. HOWEVER I WANT
TO BE VERY CLEAR THAT MONKEY
PAKISTAN INFECT ANYONE AS WE'VE
HEARD FROM OTHER PANELISTS SAY,
REGARDLESS OF YOUR AGE, YOUR
GENDER OR YOUR SEXUAL
ORIENTATION. AND WHILE NO DEATHS
HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN RIVERSIDE
COUNTY, THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND THOSE WHO
ARE INFECTED REPORT PAINFUL AND
DEBILITATING SYMPTOMS SYSTEM
LAST WEEK. SO WHAT DO WE MEAN?
WE NEED MORE LAB CAPACITY
TESTING TURNAROUND TIMES
SOMETHING. SOME OF OUR
COMMERCIAL LABS COVERS AROUND 4
TO 5 DAYS AND QUICK ACCESS TO
TEST RESULTS STRENGTHENS OUR
ABILITY TO RESPOND. CALIFORNIA.
ALSO IN THAT TEST IS NOT COST.
CURRENTLY THIS BE FOR LAB
TESTED. A COMMERCIAL LAB HAS
ROUGHLY $76, WHICH CREATES A
COST BARRIER AND INHIBITS
EQUITABLE RESPONSE TO THE
OUTPUT. WE NEED MORE,
PARTICULARLY IN THE COACHELLA
VALLEY, WHERE ALL BUT FIVE OF
OUR 70 CASES ARE LOCATED.
BESIDES THE CURRENT ALLOCATION
OF DOSES DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR
INTERNATIONAL SEX TOURISM IN
AREAS LIKE PALM SPRINGS. THIS
AREA HAS 11 SECONDS CLUBS, THE
LARGEST NUMBER IN ANY SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA JURISDICTION. BECAUSE
OF THIS PALM SPRINGS MAY WELL BE
THE SOURCE FOR MANY CASES AND
OTHER JURISDICTION. WELL, WE
APPRECIATE CDC DEDICATING
ADDITIONAL DOSES FROM THE AMOUNT
OF STATE WITH BOLD IT'S NOT
ENOUGH TO MEET THE NEEDS AND THE
DEMANDS OF OUR COMMUNITIES. LIKE
WHAT THE COACHES WERE TRYING TO
DISTRIBUTE A SCARCE COMMODITY IN
AN EQUITABLE WAY. WE'RE
PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITY AND
FAITH BASED ORGANIZATION TO
CONDUCT AND PROVIDE EDUCATION.
TO THE GAY, BISEXUAL TRANS
POPULATION AND ALSO TO FARM
WORKERS. THE HOSPITALITY AND
OTHERS WHO MAY BE AT RISK.
FIGHTERS AND RETAINING 25% FOR
USED BY PUBLIC HEALTH FOR HEALTH
CARE WORKER AND LAB WORKERS.
PREP THE EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS.
FOR OUTBREAK AND FOR ADDITIONAL
SUPPORT FOR POST EXPOSURE
PROPHYLAXIS. TO DATE, WE HAVE
ORDERED A RECEIVED JUST OVER
4600 DOSES OF VACCINE, WHICH
INCLUDES 1000 OF THE STATES 15%
RESERVED FOR SPECIAL SITUATIONS.
SCARCITY OF VACCINE NECESSITATES
PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA, WHICH
FRUSTRATES THE COMMUNITY,
INCREASED WINNERS AND LOSERS.
AND WHILE I RECOGNIZE THAT
VACCINE ALLOCATION IS LARGELY A
FEDERAL ISSUE, WE NEED TO FIGURE
OUT A WAY TO GET MORE VACCINE
OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY FASTER. I
WAS ALSO PLANNING ON
HIGHLIGHTING THE CHALLENGES
AROUND TEAPOT, BUT IN THE
INTEREST OF TIME, I WILL JUST
SAY THAT I ECHO THE COMMENTS
FROM PREVIOUS COLLEAGUE THAT
THERE ARE MANY BUREAUCRATIC
CHALLENGES. THAT NEEDED. SO THAT
WE CAN OUR PROVIDERS. IT WILL
AND ABLE TO DECIDE. THIS
IMPORTANT ANTI. WILL PROVIDE
AWAY. APPROVAL. FOR PROVIDERS
AND THE COMMUNITY TO RECEIVE
GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE WITH
APPLYING FOR AND OBTAINING TIFA.
NOTHING DOES MORE TO EASE THE
APPREHENSION WITHIN THE
COMMUNITY AND ACCURATE MESSAGING
THAT EDUCATES INFORMS, CONFIRMS
AND DISPELS MYTHS, ALL WITHIN
THE QUICK. WE'VE LEARNED THE
NEWS RELEASE THAT FELT THAT NOT
ENOUGH AND USING SOCIAL MEDIA IS
ONLY A CITIZEN NUMBER OF
FOLLOWERS. THEY HAVE IN THIS
CASE THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX IS
ONLY THE START. WE MUST HAVE A
MEDIA CAMPAIGN THAT IS RELEVANT
. TIMELY WHY IS REVIEWED AND
SPEAKS TO THE POPULATIONS AT
RISK. THESE CAMPAIGNS ARE COSTED
. I NEED TO BE FUNDED AND
DEVELOPED AT THE STATE LEVEL FOR
CUSTOMIZING AND LEVERAGING AND
OUR LOCAL JURISDICTION. AND
ALTHOUGH THE VAST MAJORITY OF
OUR CASES ARE IN THE MEN WHO
HAVE SEX WITH MEN POPULATION,
OTHERS ARE AT RISK. CHALLENGING
TO THREAD THE NEEDLE OF HAVING
SPECIFIC MESSAGING FOR
COMMUNITIES THAT HIGHER RISK
WITHOUT CONTRIBUTING TO STIGMA.
STIGMA IS NOT HELPFUL TO A
SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC HEALTH RESPOND
IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY, WE'VE
ENGAGED COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO
WORK WITH POPULATIONS MOST AT
RISK, INCLUDING LGBT Q PLUS
SERVICE PROVIDERS, SEX WORKERS
AND OTHERS TO HELP DEVELOP
MESSAGING SO THAT IT'S WELL
RECEIVED BY THE INTENDED
INTENDED AUDIENCE. WE ALSO WORK
VERY CLOSELY WITH COMMUNITY AND
FAITH BASED ORGANIZATIONS WHO
ARE TRUSTED MESSENGERS IN THE
PRISTINELY, BUT WE ALSO KNOW
THAT NOTHING WORKS BETTER THAN
IF THEY FACE INTERACTION, AND
THAT'S WHY WE CREATED TEAMS WHO
HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE
COMMUNITY. DAY AND NIGHT. TO
SPEAK TO BUSINESS. BOUTIQUES.
AND HOTEL. THEY HAND OUT INFORM
FLY. QUESTIONS. ACCESS. TO
FACEBOOK. PUBLIC HEALTH. WE'VE
ATTENDED WEEKLY SESSIONS OF
PROVIDERS AND TAKEN PART IN TOWN
HALL MEETINGS WITH IMPACTED
COMMUNITIES. IT IS NOT ALWAYS
BEEN A WALK IN THE PARK, AND
WE'VE TAKEN OUR SHARE OF HARD
KNOCKS. BUT HOPEFULLY THE
COMMUNITY KNOWS HOW MUCH WE HAVE
PUBLIC HEALTH CARE. AND WE ALL
KNOW THAT COSTS MONEY TO RESPOND
TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES AND
MONKEY POX IS NO DIFFERENT. IT
IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE
THAT WE'RE STILL RESPONDING TO
COVID 19 SO MANY OF US CANNOT
DIVERT FUNDS FROM THAT RESPONSE
TO THE MONKEY POX RESPONSE.
FUNDS PROVIDED IN THE 2022
BUDGET ACT. L HDS ARE INTENDED
TO GROW A PERMANENT WORKFORCE,
WHICH WILL TAKE TIME. IN
ADDITION BECAUSE OF THE HIGH
DEPENDENCE ON CATEGORICAL
FUNDING WITHIN PUBLIC HEALTH,
MANY OF THE STAFF DIVERTED TO
THE MONKEY POX RESPONSE WILL BE
WORKING OUTSIDE OF THEIR GRANT
REQUIREMENTS AND
ADMINISTRATIVELY. L H D S WILL
NOT HAVE A SOURCE OF FUNDING TO
COVER THOSE COSTS. ON BEHALF OF
JACQUE. I ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE
SERVING AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE
COUNTY HEALTH EXECUTIVES
ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA OR SHE
ACT LIKE TO THANK YOU, SENATOR
WEINER AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE
LEGISLATURE WHO PUSHED FOR
ADDITIONAL STATE FUNDS TO
SUPPORT OUR LOCAL RESPONSE. WE
APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTFULNESS
AND WOULD JUST EMPHASIZE THAT AS
THIS RESPONSE CONTINUES, THE
FUNDING NEEDS MAINTENANCE
CREASE. DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE
FIRST WAVE OF THE COVID 19. UM
RESPONSE. JACK AND THE
CALIFORNIA CAN'T WAIT. COALITION
SPONSORED HB 2 42 REQUIRE A
COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF OUR
PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE AND
INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS. THE
ASSESSMENT WILL PROVIDE VITAL
INFORMATION TO ADDRESS CRUCIAL
GAPS TO PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES
FROM THE NEXT PUBLIC HEALTH
THREAT, WHETHER THAT BE FROM
ANOTHER COVID 19 VARIANTS,
CLIMATE CHANGE, DROUGHT OR
MONKEY POX. WE NEED A ROAD MAP
THIS COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENTS
TO ENSURE THAT CALIFORNIA CAN
PREVENT ASSESS AND RESPOND TO
PUBLIC HEALTH BREASTS. PUBLIC
HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE THAT
SUPPORTS HIGH PERFORMING HEALTH
DEPARTMENT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
AND TRAINING, DATA AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS, PLANNING
AND PARTNERSHIP. WE'VE LEARNED
MANY LESSONS DURING THE ONGOING
COVID 19 PANDEMIC, WHICH STARTED
FOR RIVERSIDE COUNTY MORE THAN
2.5 YEARS AGO, WHEN A PLANE
LOADED WITH AMERICAN PASSENGERS
LANDED AT MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE
AFTER A LONG FLIGHT FROM WUHAN,
CHINA. THE MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK IS
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHY WE CAN'T
WAIT FOR A CRISIS TO REACH OUR
COMMUNITY. WE HAVE WELCOME BACK.
THANK YOU. WE REALLY APPRECIATE
THAT THE TIME. OKAY THEN OUR
FINAL FINAL PANELISTS IS, UH
ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ, UH, SAN
DIEGO COUNTY WELCOME. IF YOU
COULD KEEP YOUR REMARKS TO ABOUT
FIVE MINUTES, 5 TO 6 MINUTES.
THAT'D BE GREAT. GOOD AFTERNOON
. JUST CONFIRMING THE YOU COULD
SEE MY SCREEN. YES, WE CAN.
THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR
WIENER AND MEMBERS OF THE SELECT
COMMITTEE ON MONKEYPOX. MY NAME
IS DR ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ. I'M
THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH
SERVICES FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN
DIEGO. IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO TEST
TESTIFY BEFORE YOU TODAY TO
SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT MONKEY
POX. IN OUR REGION. WE ARE PROUD
TO BE A PARTNER WITH THE STATE
ON THIS IMPORTANT RESPONSE
EFFORT FOLLOWING THE GOVERNOR'S
EMERGENCY DECLARATION ON AUGUST
1ST THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO ISSUED A
DECLARATION OF LOCAL HEALTH
EMERGENCY AS A RESULT OF THE
GLOBAL OUTPUT. ON MONKEYS.
ACTUALLY MY. UM I MISUNDERSTOOD
YOU. WE CANNOT SEE YOUR SLIDES.
APPARENTLY THERE WAS A TECHNICAL
ISSUES SO WE DON'T HAVE YOUR
SLIDES SO JUST TO LET YOU KNOW
THAT YOU HAVE TO. YOU CAN JUST
SAY IT ORALLY. OKAY THANK YOU SO
MUCH ABOUT THAT. NOT A PROBLEM.
THANK YOU AGAIN, HMM. UM OUR
CURRENT LOCAL CASE COUNT IS 98
CONFIRMED AND PROBABLE CONFIRMED
AND PROBABLE CASES AND OF THE 98
CONFIRMED AND PROBABLE CASES,
ALL OUR MAIL 83 CASES ARE SELF
EVIDENT AS GAY LESBIAN SAME
GENDER LOVING AGE RANGES BETWEEN
21 TO 62 YEARS OF AGE WITH THE
MEDIUM AGE OF 34.5. AND OF THE
98 CASES TO HAVE BEEN
HOSPITALIZED AND, THANKFULLY
DEATHS. THE MAJORITY OF WHITE,
FOLLOWED BY LATINO AND HISPANIC
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO HAS AN
ESTABLISHED PREPAREDNESS AND
RESPONSE SYSTEM TO MONITOR
EVALUATE AND TEST PERSONS OF
SUSPECTED MONKEYPOX INFECTION.
ON MAY 20TH. WE PUT INTO PLACE
AN INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE TO
RESPOND TO THE OUTBREAK.
BUILDING OFF OF OUR COVID 19
RESPONSE AND SUCCESSES LEARNED
FROM T THREE TEST, TRACE AND
TREAT. R T THREE RESPONSE
DASHBOARD FROM MONKEY POTS,
WHICH IS LOCATED ON OUR WEBSITE
. UM SHOWS ARE OUR NUMBERS. IN
TERMS OF TEST. UH WE'VE I'VE
DISCUSSED THE 98 CASES IN TERMS
OF TRACE AS OF AUGUST 4TH OR 74
ACTIVE CONTACT INVESTIGATIONS A
TOTAL OF 170 CONTACT INCIDENTS.
BEEN INVESTIGATED. AND TO DATE.
THERE HAVE BEEN 100 AND 70
COURSES. DISTRIBUTED TO PACKS.
THIS IS ON TOP OF THE ALMOST
4000 CALLS RECEIVED THROUGH A
211 SAN DIEGO SYSTEM. AS WITH
OTHER JURISDICTIONS, THE FEDERAL
VACCINE SUPPLY FROM MONKEY POX
IS LIMITED. AS OF AUGUST 4TH.
THE COUNTY HAS REQUESTED 25,005
DOSES AND RECEIVED 5047 DOSES.
3401 DOSES HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED
TO HOSPITAL SYSTEMS, FEDERALLY
QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS AND
COUNTY CLINICS OF WHICH 2203 122
HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED. AND
WE'VE RESERVED 1000 646 DOSES
FOR POST EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS.
AS WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS
THROUGHOUT THE STATES AND SHARED
HERE, THE DEMAND SIGNIFICANTLY
OUTWEIGHS THE CURRENT SUPPLY.
THAT'S WHERE THE FIRST CASE WAS
IDENTIFIED IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY
ON JUNE 15TH COMMUNICATION
STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED. AND
USING WE STARTED AN ACTIVE
PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION CAMPAIGN
, MAKING SURE THAT WE REACHED
ALL SAN DIEGANS. WE'VE DEVELOPED
A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS
WITH INPUT FROM SUBJECT MATTER.
EXPERTS LIKE MY COLLEAGUES HERE.
MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE IN
ENGLISH AND SPANISH AND
TRANSLATION TO OTHER THRESHOLD.
LANGUAGES ARE IN PROCESS. WE'VE
ALSO ESTABLISHED A DEDICATED
TEXT ALERT SYSTEM THAT ENABLE
ANYONE TO SIGN UP FOR MONKEY. ON
DAILY BASIS. DATING AND HOOKUP
RELATED APPS AS WELL AS PRINT
AND SOON EXPAND TO OTHER
METHODS, INCLUDING DIGITAL
RADIO. SINCE LIBERALS IN DIEGO
WAS CREATED IN 2010 PARTNERSHIPS
ACROSS FOUR SECTORS WERE
ESTABLISHED WITH GOVERNMENTS,
BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY AND FAITH
BASED ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS
SCHOOLS DURING COVID 19 EAST.
WERE TO 20. DEF. SUB SECTORS.
BURN FROM THE STREET. APPROACH.
USED DURING COVID NINE. WE WILL
THE SUB SECTORS. BOOST OUR OUT.
AND CONTINUED TO PROVIDE. TO THE
CÂM. IN AS IT WERE. TO
LGBT. LEADERSHIP MEETING. TO
PROVIDE UPDATES. AND OBTAIN IN
ON. BACKS. EVENTS. HELP
COMMUNICATIONS. THIS MEAT HAS
TRANS INTO. TWO SEPARATE
MEETINGS. BUT L G B TWO L G B T
K PLUS SECT. TELEPHONE C. OF.
400. D. AND GROW. AND THIS MEETS
.
AGES, AND YOU. BUSINESS. AND THE
CHAMBERS. NAME A FEW. NEEDLESS
TO SAY. ALL OF THE EFFORTS
MONEY. AND FUN. THAT ARE
FLEXIBLE. TO MEET THE. GREAT.
NEED. CURRENTLY. IN SANDY, WE
ARE SPEND DOWN ABOUT IT. PER
WEEK. ON MONKEY PAW.
ARE EDUCATIONAL OF BY CÂM. ABOUT
THE MONEY. POX. THANK YOU. YOUR
TIME. AND ATTENTION. WE GREATLY
APPRECIATE YOUR PUB. HEALTH. AND
I WELCOME ANY. QUESTIONS. YOU
MAY HAVE. THANK YOU.
I JUST WANT TO THANK OUR LOCAL
HEALTH. AND LEADERS WHO BOTH
PRESENT TODAY AND WHO OUT FRONT
LINES.
TRYING TO DEAL MARK PARKS. WERE
TRYING HERE. TO TRY TO YOU SOME
. AS WE KNOW THERE'S DATA THAT
SHOWS THAT LEVEL OF PT. THAT
AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS GIVEN
THE STRESSES, SO I JUST WANT TO
RECOGNIZE AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR
WORK. I KNOW THERE'S YOU KNOW,
WITH MY PARKS. WE HAVE ANOTHER
ROW. OF THAT NEED TO MAKE. UH WE
NEED TO DO MORE. SUPPORT. YOU
BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
YOUR LEADERS. AND YOUR. AND I'M
SORRY. THAT. UH, THAT, THERE ARE
MANY. WHO.
T THE SMALL DOSES. OF THE
GENIE. FAX. I THINK THAT WOULD
MEAN THAT EACH BOTTLE WOULD BE.
HOW YOU THINK THAT'S GOING TO
IMPACT VACCINE? UM AVAILABILITY
? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, IT MEANS A
LOT MORE DOSES. BUT WHERE YOU
SEE THAT, UM, GOING IN TERMS OF
WHETHER WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE
THE SAME KINDS OF LONG LINES AND
THE PEOPLE SCRAMBLING AND SOME
OF THE HORROR STORIES WE HEARD
EARLIER, UM ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE
EXPOSED AND UNABLE TO GET THE
POST EXPOSURE VACCINE. UM I
DON'T UM UH, NO. UM ONE OF OUR
COUNTY HEALTH. UM CALM ON THAT.
CRITICAL THANKS FROM FRANCISCO.
YEAH, I THINK WE'RE CAUTIOUSLY
OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THIS
DEVELOPMENT. UM, IT IS. WE'RE
STILL I'M SEEKING TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND THE DETAILS HERE
BECAUSE THE DETAILS ARE REALLY
GOING TO MATTER AS WE UNDERSTAND
IT, UM CHANGE IN THE FDA WOULD
POTENTIALLY ALLOW A WHAT'S
CURRENTLY A SINGLE DOSE TO
BECOME PRIVATE DOSES. UH, SO
THAT'S A BIG ADVANCE. UM UH, IN
TERMS OF VACCINE SUPPLY, THINK
ONE OF THE KEY CHALLENGES HERE'S
WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THE SHOT
HAS TO BE GIVEN VERY CAREFULLY
BECAUSE IT'S UM IT'S A IT'S AN
INTRADERMAL SHOTS, AND JUST
TECHNICALLY, IT TAKES A AS WE
UNDERSTAND IT DID A SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNT OF TRAINING TO ENSURE
THAT YOU GET THAT RIGHT A MUCH
SMALLER. AND IF IT DOES GO IN
THE WRONG WAY OF GIVING
INAPPROPRIATELY, THAT LEVEL OF
GHOST WOULD NOT. THE APPROPRIATE
AND PROVIDE PROTECTION, SO I
THINK IT'S REALLY A QUESTION OF
IMPLEMENTATION ON THE GROUND,
ENSURING THAT WE HAVE SUPPORT
FOR STAFF TO BE TRAINED IN THIS
AND AGAIN. I DON'T THINK THIS IS
SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO YOU
KNOW OVERNIGHT BECAUSE OF THE
TRAIN THAT'S BEEN REQUIRED THAT
THAT WILL BE REQUIRED. BUT I DO
THINK IT IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION. AND YOU CAN MULTIPL
BY FIVE THAT WOULD THAT WILL
SUBSTANTIALLY HELP US. UM I
STILL THINK WE HAVE A LONG WAY
TO GO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE
FOLLOW THAT SAME COMMUNITIES
MOST MOST AT RISK. EVEN WITH
THIS PROMISING DEVELOPMENT,
OKAY. GREAT AND THEN, UM, THIS
ONE MADE THIS MIGHT BE BEST FOR
DOCTOR. DAVIS AND THIS IS FROM
SENATOR GONZALEZ ASKING ABOUT
THE TWO THERE ARE TWO CHILDREN
WHO, RECENTLY, UM, TESTED
POSITIVE AND I BELIEVE ONE WAS
IN LONG BEACH. UH AND SO I THINK
SENATOR GONZALEZ WAS. I'M
WANTING TO KNOW IF THERE WAS ANY
MORE INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO A
CHILD. BUT JUST ABOUT CHILDREN
IN GENERAL, UM AH, AND IF
THERE'S BEEN ANY GUIDANCE BEING
GIVEN TO SCHOOLS OR CHILDCARE
CHILDCARE PROVIDERS AS THE
SCHOOL YEAR STARTS YEAH, I
APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION. YOU
KNOW, SO THE INTIMATE AND CLOSE
CONTACT. YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS
GOING TO BE A FACTOR THAT YOU
KNOW PUTS ANYONE AT RISK. UH YOU
KNOW IF THEY'RE IN CONTACT WITH
SOMEONE WHO HAS MONKEYPOX WE
HAVE STARTED TO ACTUALLY
INCORPORATE MONKEYPOX UPDATES
INTO OUR COVID UPDATES FOR A
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SECTORS THAT
WE CONTINUE TO HAVE IN TERMS OF
OUR TELE BRIEFINGS. WE'VE ALSO
BEEN DEVELOPING, YOU KNOW, BASED
ON QUESTIONS FROM THE SCHOOL
COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, GUIDANCE
THAT WE CAN GIVE THEM AS WELL. I
DO WANT TO STRESS IN GENERAL,
THOUGH, THAT FOR THE GENERAL
POPULATION, ALL OF THE RISK IS
LOW. THERE IS THERE ARE SOME
PRECAUTIONS AGAIN. YOU KNOW
ANYONE WHO IS IN CLOSE CONTACT,
AND AS YOU'VE HEARD, MANY PEOPLE
MAY NOT KNOW. HOW'S THAT? THEY
ACTUALLY HAVE. MONKEYPOX IN
ORDER THAT THEY WOULD DO
SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF
THEIR BEHAVIORS, BUT WE ARE
PLANNING TO PROVIDE GENERAL
GUIDANCE FOR LOTS OF DIFFERENT
SECTORS AND AGAIN HAVE INCLUDED
UPDATES ON OCCUPIED AND OUR
COVID UPDATES AS WELL. GREAT
THANK YOU. VERY OKAY, COLLEAGUES
. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?
SENATORS HOTDOG. SO GOING ALONG
WITH THE CHILDREN THAT ARE, UM
WE'VE HAD SOME POSITIVE TESTING
WITH WITH THEIR CHILDREN. I ALSO
HAVE A QUESTION WITH REGARDS TO
THE PETS. UM I WAS NOT AWARE
THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THE
TRANSMISSION BETWEEN, UM PEOPLE
, BUT I WAS NOT AWARE THAT YOU
COULD TRANSFER THE DISEASE TO
PETS. AND MY QUESTION, I GUESS
IT WOULD BE TO ONE IS HOW
PREVALENT DO WE BELIEVE THAT
THIS WILL WOULD TRANSFER TO PETS
? AND HOW DOES THIS HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO TRANSFER BACK TO
HUMANS CAN HUMANS UM. GET THIS
DISEASE FROM FROM DOGS AND PETS.
OR IS IT JUST THE OTHER WAY
AROUND? SO I'LL BEFORE I TURN
OVER TO OUR ACTUAL? UM UH,
EXPERTS, I WILL SAY THAT UNTIL,
UM, PRETTY RECENTLY. MY
UNDERSTANDING IN AFRICA WAS THAT
MONKEY POX WAS MOST COMMONLY
TRANSMITTED FROM ANIMALS TO
HUMANS, AND IT WAS OFTEN IT
COULD BE CHILDREN THAT WERE
PLAYING. AND. AND THE CHILD OR
ADULT COULD GET IT FROM THE
ANIMALS, SO ANIMAL TO HUMAN
TRANSMISSION HAS, I THINK BEEN,
UM UNTIL RECENTLY, THE MOST
TYPICAL ROUTE, AND THAT'S WHY,
UM, IF THIS BECAUSE IF THIS GETS
INTO THE ANIMAL POPULATION,
PARTICULARLY THE RAT POPULATION
, THAT'S HOW IT COULD BECOME
ENDEMIC. BUT I DON'T IF ANY OF
OUR PHYSICIANS TO ADD TO THAT. I
CAN'T COMMENT IF YOU WANT. SURE
UM UH. SO THANK YOU, SENATOR
WEINER AND THE PANEL FOR
ALLOWING ME TO PARTICIPATE IN
THIS HEARING. SO, UM, THE TERM
MONKEYPOX IS A BIT OF A
MISNOMER. THERE'S A VIRUS WAS.
IT'S CALLED MONKEY BIKES PIECE.
IT WAS FIRST DISCOVERED IN THE
COLONY OF RESEARCH MONKEYS. IT
REALLY MUCH PREFERS TO LIVE IN
SMALL AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY. THE
USE ROUTE OF TRANSMISSION.
ENDEMIC COUNTRIES. HAS BEEN
SMALL RODENTS. TO HUMAN. WITH
LIMITED HUMAN TO HIM. TRANS. TO
FOR INFECTION OF HOUSEHOLD
ANIMALS AND THEN THE INFECTION
OF HUMANS FROM THOSE ANIMALS,
ALTHOUGH IT HAS NOT BEEN
DOCUMENTED IN THIS OUTBREAK SO
FAR, IS CERTAINLY A VALID
CONCERN. AND LET ME CAN I ASK
YOU ALSO SPEAKING OF THAT IS A
REINFECTION, DO WE? I DON'T KNOW
IF WE KNOW THE ANSWER YET, BUT
ONCE SOMEONE HAS MONKEYPOX DO
YOU DO WE KNOW OF THAT PROVIDES
SO CALLED STERILIZING IMMUNITY
SO THAT YOU CAN NEVER GET IT
AGAIN. OR IS IT MORE LIKE, UH,
COVID OR THE FLU OR YOU KNOW
WHERE YOU CAN GET IT AGAIN,
RIGHT? IT'S A IT'S A GREAT
QUESTION. A LOT OF OUR PATIENTS
ARE ASKING THE SAME QUESTION. UM
SO, UH, SMALLPOX, ALTHOUGH IT
HAS A 3% MORTALITY DOES CONFER
LIFELONG IMMUNITY AND THE PEOPLE
WHO DON'T DIE MONTHLY PARKS. WE
JUST HAVE LESS DATA ON LIFELONG
IMMUNITY FOLLOWING INFECTION.
THERE WAS A STUDY LOOKING AT
IMMUNITY ONE YEAR OUT DURING A
SMALLER OUTBREAK THAT OCCURRED
IN THE U. S MIDWEST IN 2003.
THAT WAS, COINCIDENTALLY. CAUSED
BY IMPORTATION OF RODENTS FROM
AFRICA AND IMMUNITY DID SEEM TO
PERSIST FOR AT LEAST A YEAR IN
PEOPLE WHO ARE INFECTED IN THAT
OUTBREAK. WE DON'T I AM NOT
AWARE OF DATA LEAKS THAT LOOK
FURTHER OUT THAN BACK, OKAY?
THANK YOU. AND THEN SENATOR
KAMLAGER ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT
IF WE KNOW ABOUT WHETHER THERE
ARE LONG POTENTIAL LONG TERM
EFFECTS FROM MONKEY POX. UM
INFECTION IF THERE IS ANY
KNOWLEDGE OR OR OR DATA ON THAT.
I WISH WE HAD NIGERIAN PHYSICIAN
HERE HAS BEEN THEY'VE BEEN
DEALING WITH MONKEYPOX A HECK OF
A LOT LONGER THAN WE HAVE. IF
ANYONE KNOWS THE ANSWER TO THAT.
I AM NOT AWARE OF LONG TERM
COMPLICATIONS. THIS IS GENERALLY
A SELF LIMITED, ALTHOUGH VERY,
VERY UNPLEASANT DISEASE. UM
THERE ARE CERTAIN POPULATIONS
WHO ARE AT MUCH GREATER RISK FOR
SEVERE CASES OF MONKEYPOX.
PEOPLE GIVES MUCH OF THAT I'M
NOT AWARE OF LONG TERM
CONSEQUENCES. OKAY GREAT. VAST
MAJORITY OF PEOPLE. ONE THING,
OKAY. APPRECIATE IT. OKAY IF
THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS
THAN WILL CONCLUDE THAT PANEL. I
REALLY, REALLY WANT TO THANK ALL
OF OUR COUNTY LEVEL EXPERTS FOR
YOUR WORK ON COVID AND MONKEY
POX AND SO MANY OTHER THINGS, SO
THANK YOU. UM WILL NOW PROCEED
TO OUR FINAL PANEL, WHICH ARE
OUR STATEWIDE ARE LGBTQ PLUS AND
HEALTH ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS AS
WELL AS UM, UH, LABOR
PERSPECTIVE, AND WE'LL BE JOINED
BY FOUR PANELISTS. I SEE I'M
GARRETT PETE, THE MANAGING
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
THAT EQUALITY CALIFORNIA. AMBER
PARISH POWER, THE EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR OF UNITED FOOD
COMMERCIAL WORKERS, UFCW WESTERN
STATES COUNCIL. TYLER TERMEER,
PHD, WHO'S THE CEO OF THE SAN
FRANCISCO AIDS FOUNDATION, AND
JOE HOLLAND, OWNER WHO IS THE
CEO OF THE LOS ANGELES LGBT
CENTER. SO WELCOME TO OUR FOUR
PANELISTS, AND WE'LL START WITH
MR GARRETT PETE. GOOD AFTERNOON
. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR AND
COMMITTEE MEMBERS. MY NAME IS
SAMUEL GARRETT PATE AND THE
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL
AFFAIRS FOR A QUALITY CALIFORNIA
, WHICH IS THE NATION'S LARGEST
STATEWIDE LGBTQ, PLUS CIVIL
RIGHTS ORGANIZATION. UM, I WOULD
LIKE TO START SINCERE THANK.
CHAIR FOR HIS LEADER. RESPONSE
TO THIS HEALTH CRISIS. AND I AM
HONORED TO BE HERE TODAY
ALONGSIDE MY COLLEAGUES FROM THE
L. A LGBT CENTER, THE SAN
FRANCISCO AIDS FOUNDATION AND
UFCW. I'M EQUALLY DISAPPOINTED
BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR 2.5
YEARS, OUR PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS
HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING IMPROVING
AND SCALING SYSTEMS TO COMBAT
THE WORST GLOBAL PANDEMIC IN A
CENTURY. AND YET WHEN CONFRONTED
WITH THE NEW OUTBREAK IN MAY OF
THIS YEAR, FEDERAL HEALTH
AGENCIES FAILED TO TREAT THIS
THREAT WITH THE URGENCY AND
COMMITMENT THAT IT CLEARLY
DEMANDED. COMBINATION OF
MISJUDGMENT, MISMANAGEMENT AND
MISCOMMUNICATION LEFT OUR STATE
AND LOCAL HEALTH AGENCIES
WITHOUT THE RESOURCES THAT THEY
NEEDED TO ADEQUATELY PREPARE AND
RESPOND. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF
THE OUTBREAK IN THE UNITED
STATES, EQUALITY CALIFORNIA HAS
BEEN WORKING TO EDUCATE THE
LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY
GAY AND BI MEN, TRANS WOMEN,
BINARY PEOPLE. ABOUT THE VIRUS,
THE RISKS AND PRECAUTIONS TO
HELP PREVENT TRANSMISSION
TESTING AND VACCINATION
RESOURCES AS THEY HAVE BECOME
AVAILABLE. WE LAUNCHED AN ONLINE
HELP AND RESOURCE CENTER AT EQ
CA.GOV MONKEYPOX. WHICH IS
REGULARLY UPDATED, AND IT WORKED
TO CREATE AND COORDINATE THE
DISTRIBUTION OF EDUCATIONAL
CONTENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
LGBTQ, PLUS AN HIV COMMUNITY
BASED ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS
SOCIAL MEDIA, WHERE MOST MEMBERS
OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN
CONSUMING AND SHARING
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CRISIS.
VACCINATION. AND SPEED UP THE
PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE,
INCLUDING JOINING OUR PARTNERS
FROM THE CENTER AND SFS
FOUNDATION, AS WELL AS THE
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN
RIGHTS IN A LETTER TO THE CDC
LAST MONTH, URGING THEM TO
INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF VACCINES
AND SPEED UP DELIVERY. SHIP AND
COLLABORATION. WE AND OUR
PARTNERS HAVE WORKED CLOSELY
WITH BOTH AGENCIES TO STRENGTHEN
AND SCALE THEIR RESPONSES AND TO
AMPLIFY AND HELP DISSEMINATE
CRITICAL INFORMATION TO COMBAT
BOTH THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS AND
THE RESULTING STIGMA DIRECTED AT
THE COMMUNITY. AND WE ARE
GRATEFUL TO MEMBERS OF
CALIFORNIA'S CONGRESSIONAL
DELEGATION, PARTICULARLY SPEAKER
PELOSI, CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF
AND SENATORS FEINSTEIN AND
PADILLA TO MEMBERS OF THIS
COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNOR PRO TEM
ATKINS AND SPEAKER RENDON INTO
LOCAL LEADERS, INCLUDING LONG
BEACH MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA, SAN
FRANCISCO SUPERVISOR RAPHAEL MAN
DELMAN WAS HOLLYWOOD CITY
COUNCIL MEMBER JOHN ERICSSON AND
PUMP SPRINGS. COUNCILMAN
CHRISTIE. HOSTAGE. FOR THEIR PER
ADVOCACY. AS WELL. PROVIDERS TO
SPEAK TO THE SPECIFIC FUNDING
AND POLICY NEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH
DELIVERING ADEQUATE VACCINATION
TESTING AND TREATMENT. GREATER
RESOURCES ARE ALSO URGENTLY
NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT TRUSTED
COMMUNITY BASED MESSENGERS. ARE
ABLE TO PROVIDE THE CRITICAL,
ACCURATE INFORMATION TO MEMBERS
OF OUR COMMUNITY AND COMBAT THE
DANGEROUS STIGMA THAT IS, THE
CHAIR SAID. WE'VE ALREADY SEEN
ON THE RISE IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE MUST LEARN FROM THE FAILURES
TO COMBAT THIS STIGMA DURING THE
AIDS CRISIS, WHICH LED TO
DECADES OF DISCRIMINATION AND
VIOLENCE AMONG AGAINST GAY MEN,
AND BY MEN AND PEOPLE LIVING
WITH HIV. AND FROM SIMILAR
FAILURES TO COMBAT STIGMA DURING
THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC, WHICH IS
FUELED AND ONGOING SURGE OF
DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE
AGAINST API COMMUNITIES ACROSS
THE COUNTRY. WE ALSO, AS
SENATOR, WIENER NOTED, NEED TO
EXTEND PAID SICK LEAVE FOR
HOURLY WORKERS TO TAKE TIME OFF
FOR VACCINATION ISOLATION.
CAREGIVING AND RECOVERY. I'D
LIKE TO SHARE A QUICK ANECDOTE.
IT TOOK ME A TOTAL OF FIVE HOURS
OVER TWO DAYS TO GET A VACCINE
FROM AN L. A COUNTY CLINIC LAST
MONTH. LIKECOUNCIL MEMBER
ARIELLA. I HAVE ACCESS TO
CONTACTS AND INFORMATION THAT
MOST MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY DO
NOT HAVE. AND AS A SALARIED
EMPLOYEE AT AN LGBTQ CIVIL
RIGHTS ORGANIZATION, I WAS ABLE
TO TAKE WHATEVER TIME WAS
NECESSARY. BUT MOST MEMBERS OF
OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THOSE
IN LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES,
RURAL COMMUNITIES AND OTHER
UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, AS THE
CHAIR NOTED, DON'T HAVE THE
LUXURY OF TAKING FIVE HOURS OFF
OF WORK OVER TWO DAYS TO GO GET
THE VACCINE. FOR ALL THESE
REASONS OF QUALITY, CALIFORNIA
STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE CHAIRS,
$38.5 MILLION BUDGET REQUEST FOR
INCREASED RESOURCES AND WE ARE
COMMITTED TO CONTINUING TO
PARTNER WITH THIS COMMITTEE AND
OUR PARTNERS IN THE LEGISLATURE
. WITH C D PH AND WITH LOCAL
PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES OUR
COMMUNITY PARTNERS THROUGHOUT
THE STATE TO EDUCATE OUR
COMMUNITY. THE VIRUS. AND HOW
COMBAT CRISIS. CONTEST AND
TREATMENT RESOURCES REACH
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO
TACKLE DISPARITIES SUCH AS THOSE
THAT WE ARE ALREADY SEEING IN
LATINO COMMUNITIES. AS SENATOR,
GONZALEZ NOTED. WE CERTAINLY
APPRECIATE CPH TRANSLATING THEIR
MESSAGING AND CONTENT INTO
SPANISH. BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO
RECOGNIZE THAT SIMPLY
TRANSLATING COMMUNICATIONS INTO
ANOTHER LANGUAGE DOES NOT
INHERENTLY MAKE THEM CULTURALLY
COMPETENT OR EFFECTIVE. FOR
EXAMPLE, WE RECENTLY WORKED WITH
CD PH TO CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS
WITH ENGLISH AND SPANISH
SPEAKING LGBTQ, PLUS YOUNG
PEOPLE AROUND THE COVID 19
PANDEMIC AND VACCINATION AND SAW
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN WHICH
MESSAGES WERE EFFECTIVE WITH
EACH AUDIENCE. I'LL CONCLUDE BY
SAYING THANK YOU AGAIN, MR CHAIR
FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS
FIGHT AND FOR YOUR DOG TO USE
SENATOR LAIRD'S WORDS, UH,
ADVOCACY FOR GREATER RESOURCES
AND MORE ROBUST RESPONSE FROM
ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND
PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES. AND
THANK YOU TO THE REST OF THE
COMMITTEE FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS
TO SERVE AND FOR YOUR
PARTNERSHIP AND ADVOCACY ON
BEHALF OF YOUR LGBTQ, PLUS
COMMUNITY CONSTITUENTS AND LGBTQ
, PLUS CALIFORNIANS ACROSS OUR
STATE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR
GARRETT. PETE UM, NEXT, WE WILL
HEAR FROM AMBER PARISH BAUER,
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UFCW,
WESTERN STATES COUNCIL AND WE
ASKED UFCW TO PARTICIPATE
BECAUSE THE UNION HAS BEEN
DURING THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC
PARTICULARLY ACTIVE AND SHOWING
A LOT OF LEADERSHIP AROUND PAID
LEAVE ISSUES FOR WORKERS WHO GOT
SICK. SO I THANK YOU FOR BEING
HERE. ABSOLUTELY I APPRECIATE
THAT, UM, AND A DEEP GRATITUDE
TO SENATOR WIENER FOR CONVENING
A HEARING ON THIS IMPORTANT
TOPIC AND INCLUDING THE
PERSPECTIVE OF WORKERS. MY NAME
IS AMBER BAUER. I'M THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED
FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS.
WESTERN STATES COUNCIL. UM I
WANT TO START BY THANKING THE
FRONTLINE PUBLIC HEALTH WORKERS
WHO WERE AND ARE STATES FIRST
LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST COVID 19
AND ARE NOW BEING CALLED UPON
FOR THE MONKEY POX VIRUS.
THROUGH THEIR WORK. CALIFORNIA
HAS BEEN ABLE TO LEARN A LOT
FROM THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC.
WE'VE LEARNED THAT ILLNESS AND
QUARANTINES HURT ARE LOW WAGE
WORKERS AND FRONTLINE ESSENTIAL
WORKERS FROM GROCERY WORKERS AND
MEATPACKERS TO FARM WORKERS. THE
MOST THESE WORKERS WERE THE
BRUNT OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC,
GETTING SICK AND DYING AT
EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH RATES.
THESE WORKERS ARE ALSO MOSTLY
PEOPLE OF COLOR AND WOMEN, HER
DOUBLY AFFECTED BECAUSE THEY'RE
ALSO CARING FOR FAMILIES. JUST
LAST MONTH, UFCW INTERNATIONAL
PUBLISHED A SURVEY OF UNION
MEMBERS WHO WERE ESSENTIAL
WORKERS DURING THE COVID 19
PANDEMIC. THE SURVEY FOUND THAT
UFCW MEMBERS REPORTED HAVING
COVID INFECTIONS BEFORE MAY NEXT
2021 OR TWICE AS LIKELY TO GET
EFFECT INFECTED AGAIN IN THE
PAST YEAR. DURING THE FIRST FEW
MONTHS OF THE STUDY, SUMMER 2021
90% OF THOSE INFECTED WITH OVID
REPORTING MISSING WORK FOR AN
AVERAGE OF 20 DAYS DUE TO
INFECTION IN MAY OF 2022, HALF
OF THE RESPONDENTS REPORTED THAT
THEIR LIVES WERE STILL DEEPLY
IMPACTED BY COVID. THIS DATA
HIGHLIGHTS THE GREAT SACRIFICE
ESSENTIAL WORKERS HAVE MADE TO
KEEP THEIR COMMUNITIES RUNNING
AND CAN INFORM FUTURE
STRATEGIES. TO PROTECT ESSENTIAL
WORKERS EXPOSED TO INFECTIOUS
DISEASE AT WORK LIKE MONKEY POX.
WORKERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO
CHOOSE BECAUSE BETWEEN GOING TO
WORK SICK AND PUTTING FOOD ON
THE TABLE. WELL COVID 19 IS
STILL SPREADING AND MONKEY POX
IS NOW HERE. WE MUST DO ALL WE
CAN TO STOP THE SPREAD OF
ILLNESS. STOPPING THE SPREAD OF
DISEASE IN WORKERS MUST HAVE THE
ABILITY TO TAKE TIME OFF TO GET
A VACCINE. THEY MUST HAVE THE
TIME TO ISOLATE WHEN THEY'RE
SICK AND AWAITING TEST RESULTS,
AND THEY ALSO MUST HAVE TIME OFF
TO HELP CARE FOR SICK FAMILY
MEMBERS WHO ARE INFECTED. THE
STATE MANDATED THREE DAYS OF
PAID SICK LEAVE IS WOEFULLY
INADEQUATE. YOU'VE HEARD
FIRSTHAND AT THE FINANCIAL
DEVASTATION BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE
LACK OF ADEQUATE TESTING THE
DELAY IN TESTING RESULTS AND THE
LACK OF ACCESS TO VACCINE THANKS
TO THE SUPPORT OF THE
LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR,
CALIFORNIA'S WORKERS NOW HAVE
ACCESS TO UP TO 10 MORE DAYS
UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30TH OF THIS
YEAR. BUT WE NEED A MORE
PERMANENT STANDARD TO ADDRESS
THE MYRIAD OF WAYS WORKERS MAY
BE OUT OF WORK DUE TO ILLNESS
COULD BE CARRYING FOR CHILDREN
AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, AND
THAT MEANS THE WORKER NEEDS TO
BE OUT OF WORK WHEN THEY
THEMSELVES ARE NOT SICK. THEY
MAY NEED TO KEEP A CHILD HOME
BECAUSE THE CHILD HAS BEEN
EXPOSED AND THE CHILD SCHOOL
CLOSED. THEY MAY NEED GET A VET.
MAYBE ONE FOR MONKEY POX. BUT
SCHEDULED THE POINT AREN'T
AVAILABLE. CENTRAL FRONTLINE
WORKERS LIKE UFCW MEMBERS DON'T
HAVE FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULES
THAT ALLOW THEM TO STAND IN LINE
FOR A VACCINE FOR HOURS AT A
TIME WE HEARD FROM THE COUNCIL
MEMBER EARLIER, HOW DIFFICULT
AND TIME CONSUMING IT WAS FOR
HIM TO RECEIVE TREATMENT AFTER
TESTING POSITIVE. THE REALITY IS
OUR MEMBERS WILL STRUGGLE TO BE
ABLE TO AFFORD TO STAY OUT OF
WORK EVEN FOR A FEW DAYS. AND
DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE
ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY ISOLATE
WHEN MANY OF OUR MEMBERS CAN
ONLY AFFORD TO LIVE WITH
MULTIPLE PEOPLE, AND MANY EVEN
STRUGGLE WITH STABLE HOUSING.
CALIFORNIA MUST PRAYER TO
PRIORITIZE THESE WORKERS INFECT
IN VACCINE ACCESS RIGHT NOW FOR
MONKEYPOX, INFECTED AND IMPACTED
COMMUNITIES AND WITH OTHER
FUTURE DISEASES. WE KNOW CERTAIN
SAFE WORKPLACES ARE ESSENTIAL
ALONG WITH PAID SICK LEAVE,
KALUSHA. WE MUST HAVE A ROBUST
GENERAL INFECTIOUS DISEASE
STANDARD THAT PROTECTS WORKERS
SIMILAR TO THAT IN HEALTHCARE
SETTINGS. THE KEY PIECE FROM
THIS STANDARD IS CONTINUED
EXCLUSION PAY FOR WORKERS WHO
ARE FORCED TO BE EXCLUDED FROM
THE WORKING WORKPLACE FOR
QUARANTINE AND INFECTIONS, WHICH
CAN VARY BY VIRUS. EXCLUSION.
PAY LIKE PAID SICK LEAVE IS A
KEY PREVENTATIVE MEASURE THAT
WILL STOP WORKERS FROM HAVING TO
CHOOSE BETWEEN PAYING THEIR RENT
OR GOING TO WORK SICK. WE KNOW
THAT TRACKING WORKPLACE
INFECTIONS, PROVIDING WORKERS
WITH NO NOTICE OF EXPOSURE AT
WORK CAN HELP STOP THE SPREAD OF
DISEASE. AND LASTLY, WE MUST
THINK ABOUT OUR HEALTHCARE
WORKFORCE, PARTICULARLY
PHARMACISTS, WHO UFCW REPRESENTS
WHO THE STATE KEEPS ASKING MORE
AND MORE FROM AND THEY WILL
CERTAINLY BE LOOKED TO FOR
MONKEY PACKS, VACCINATION AND
TESTING CAPACITY. THE COVID 19
PANDEMIC PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON
PHARMACISTS ESSENTIAL ROLE AND
PHARMACISTS STEPPED INTO DELIVER
VACCINES AND OTHER FINAL CARE
WITH OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM UNDER
AND PUT OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
UNDER UNPRECEDENTED STRAIN. WE
MUST CONTINUE TO HEED THE
LESSONS THAT COVID 19 TAUGHT US
ON HOW TO KEEP WORKERS SAFE ON
THE JOB. THANK YOU, SENATOR
WIENER FOR INCLUDING THE
PERSPECTIVE OF WORKING PEOPLE IN
THIS IMPORTANT HEARING. THANK
YOU SO MUCH. UM OKAY, WELL, NOW
GO TO OUR NEXT WITNESS, TYLER
TAMIR, CEO OF THE SAN FRANCISCO
AIDS FOUNDATION. THANK YOU FOR
HAVING US HERE TODAY. MY NAME IS
DR TYLER TERMEER. UH CAN YOU SEE
MY SLIDES THAT'S WORKING SEVEN.
UH MY NAME IS DR TYLER PREMIER.
I AM CEO OF SAN FRANCISCO AIDS
FOUNDATION. BUT I'M ALSO HERE
TODAY AS A BLACK GAY MAN WHO HAS
BEEN LIVING WITH HIV FOR 18
YEARS OF MY OWN LIFE. I THINK
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS MOMENT FOR
MANY LONG TERM SURVIVORS IS A
VERY TRIGGERING ONE AND ONE THAT
THAT IS CAUSING A LOT OF LONG
LASTING HARM AND CONSEQUENCE.
YOU KNOW IT WAS IN 1982 WIN SAN
FRANCISCO. IT'S FOUNDATION WAS
FORMED IN A MOMENT OF PUBLIC
HEALTH CRISIS THAT WAS HAPPENING
AMONG THIS GENDER AND
TRANSGENDER MEN AS WELL AS NON
BINARY FOLKS WITH THE SAME
SOCIAL AND SEXUAL NETWORKS IN
OUR COUNTRY. THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT HAD. ABANDONED US AND
SAN FRANCISCO HAD TO RISE UP HAD
TO FIGHT BACK AND ACT UP FOR THE
RESOURCES AND ACCESS THAT THEY
NEEDED AND DESERVED DURING THAT
TIME AND NOW, 40 YEARS LATER, WE
HAD TO BEGIN RINGING THE ALARM
ABOUT AN EMINENT WINDOW THAT WAS
CLOSING IN OUR COMMUNITY AS WE
BEGAN SEEING THE SPREAD OF
MONKEYPOX. WE AS A EARLY AS LATE
MAY EARLY JUNE BEGAN PREPARING
OUR WORKFORCES. EDUCATING OUR
COMMUNITY AND AWAITING VACCINE
AS WE REACHED OUR PRIDE SEASON.
AT THE END OF JUNE, WE SAW THE
FIRST REPORTED CASES IN SAN
FRANCISCO PARTY PLANNERS TALKING
ABOUT EXPOSURE AT THEIR EVENTS
AND PANIC, FEAR AND EXTREME
DISTRESS SETTING INTO OUR
COMMUNITIES. WE DID EVERYTHING
WE COULD TO GET THE WORD OUT AND
CONTINUE TO RING THE ALARM
WORKING WITH THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS HERE IN SAN
FRANCISCO AT A PRESS CONFERENCE
AND TO SUPPORT THEIR RESOLUTION
AGAIN AT A MONKEY POX HEARING BY
OUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND
BEGAN EVERYTHING WE COULD TO
INCREASE COMMUNICATION AND
COORDINATION WITH SAN FRANCISCO
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH UNTIL
RECEIVING OUR FIRST VARY
INADEQUATE SUPPLY A VACCINE ON
JUNE 30TH. AH, WHAT HAPPENED
NEXT WAS A CONTINUED LACK OF
URGENCY, WHICH MEANT WE WERE
DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO
RAISE THE ALARM. OUR CLINIC
TEAMS HAD TO RAMP UP THEIR
RESPONSE TO MONKEY POX. AND WE
HAD TO ADVOCATE THROUGH A NUMBER
OF NEWS MEDIA PLATFORMS. WE
BEGAN SEEING ONGOING NEWS
COVERAGE, GETTING MANY QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHAT OUR CLINIC WAS DOING
. AND OUR BEST. UM WHAT? WE WERE
HEARING FROM OUR COMMUNITY THAT
NEWS COVERAGE HAS BEEN 2 TO 3
INTERVIEWS PER DAY ANSWERING
QUESTIONS AND ASKING FOR
ACCOUNTABLE. THOSE THEMES
INCLUDED EVERYTHING FROM THE
DEMAND FOR VACCINE HERE IN OUR
COMMUNITIES, THE ADDITIONAL, UM,
NEED FOR VACCINES ARE CLINICS
EXPERIENCE AND WHAT WAS
HAPPENING TO THOSE THAT WERE
BEING IMPACTED BY OUR COMMUNITY.
THERE WAS A RQUEST, UH,
REPEATEDLY FOR EDUCATIONAL AND
INFORMATIONAL. UM SERVICES. WE
PRODUCED SEVERAL TOWN HALL
MEETINGS CREATED A MONKEY POX
HOTLINE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
OF OUR COMMUNITIES WANTED TO GET
INFORMATION OUT IN THE BEST WAYS
WE COULD ABOUT TESTING,
VACCINATION AND TREATMENT. BUT
ALSO WE'RE GETTING MANY
QUESTIONS FROM THE MEDIA ABOUT
VACCINE EQUITY ABOUT HARM
REDUCTION MESSAGING IN OUR
COMMUNITY, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE
SHOULD BE DECLARING A PUBLIC
STATE PUBLIC HEALTH STATE OF
EMERGENCY, BUT THE MEDIA WASN'T
THE ONLY ONE ASKING QUESTIONS.
WE SAW A DEMAND COMING FROM THE
COMMUNITY HEARKENING BACK TO THE
EARLIEST DAYS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
IT'S FOUNDATION WHEN OUR FIRST
PROGRAM WAS A HOTLINE, WE
CREATED A SEPARATE HOTLINE TO
ANSWER THE CALLS OF ARE
COMMUNITY WERE COMING IN. WITH
QUESTIONS, FEAR AND PANIC ABOUT
HOW THEY MAY ACCESS THE
RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED AND
DESERVED. OUR HOTLINE WAS
RECEIVING 1 TO 2 CALLS PERMANENT
AS SOON AS WE ACTIVATED THE
NUMBER AND THROUGH OUR VIRTUAL
TOWN HALLS THAT WERE PRODUCED IN
BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
HUNDREDS OF INDIVIDUALS HAVE
BEEN GETTING THE INFORMATION
THAT THEY NEED AND DESERVE
DURING THIS TIME. BUT NOT
BECAUSE OF A FEDERAL RESPONSE IN
MESSAGING, BUT BECAUSE THE
COMMUNITY CAME TOGETHER TO
EDUCATE ONE ANOTHER AND
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS
THAT HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF
TRUST AND RESPECT, HAVE BEEN THE
MESSENGER. WE CONTINUE TO
RECEIVE. ABOUT INFORMATION. TO
TRY. PREVENTION TREAT AND BACK.
LARGER RESPONSE WE KNEW IN THIS
MOMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH FAILURE
THAT THERE WAS A LACK OF URGENCY
AND INADEQUATE FEDERAL RESPONSE
THAT HAD LEFT OUR COMMUNITY
FILLED WITH FEAR, UNANSWERED
QUESTIONS AND VALID. OUTRAGE.
ONCE A, WE HAVE BEEN BY ACTION.
THIS JUST AN AND COMPLETE AVOID.
MOMENT IN OUR HISTORY.
IZATION OF MONKEYPOX AS A GAY
ISSUE. THE NAME MONKEY POX
ITSELF AS THE NAME OF THIS
INFECTION IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND
AS WE BEGAN TO HAVE
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE NEED FOR
A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, WE
WERE TRYING TO INFORM THE
COMMUNITY THAT THESE SMALL AND
INADEQUATE DOSES OF VACCINE
WE'RE MAKING IT NEARLY
IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE A PLAN IN
PLACE AND CERTAINLY IMPOSSIBLE
TO LIFT UP CONVERSATIONS ABOUT
VACCINE EQUITY IN OUR
COMMUNITIES. BUT AS WE'VE
LEARNED THROUGHOUT THE LAST 40
PLUS YEARS OF THE HIV EPIDEMIC,
OUR COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER. IN
THESE MOMENTS, THEY HAVE RISEN
UP. THEY HAVE SUPPORTED ONE
ANOTHER AND CONTINUE TO
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER TO
BRING AWARENESS TO EDUCATE EACH
OTHER ABOUT WHERE VACCINE IS
AVAILABLE. WHAT TREATMENT
EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN LIKE AND
HOW TO GAIN THE AC TO EACH OF
THE RING. THAT THEY MAY KNOW. OR
TO. TOGETHER. THESE M
CTURES YOU SEE HERE OF OUR HIV
AT WEEKS AND MONTHS. THERE'S
ALSO BEEN A NEED TO GET
MESSAGING OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A NEED TO
PROMOTE REALISTIC SEX POSITIVE
ADVICE FOR LGBTQ. PLUS PEOPLE
DURING THIS TIME, WE WANT PEOPLE
TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THEMSELVES
AND BE ABLE TO BE IN COMMUNITY
AFTER YEARS OF A NEED TO ISOLATE
FROM COVID, 19 AND YEARS OF
MARGINALIZATION IN OUR SOCIETY.
OUR PERSPECTIVE ISN'T THAT WE
NEED TO BE TELLING PEOPLE WHAT
TO DO OR TO STOP HAVING SEX WITH
THE THREAT OF MONKEYPOX YOU
LEARNED EARLY ON IN THE HIV
EPIDEMIC THAT MESSAGES OF FEAR
AND SHAME DID NOT WORK IN OUR
RESPONSE. SO WE DECIDED TO BRING
BACK THIS VERY POPULAR CARTOON
CHARACTER YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN
THAT HAS SERVED AS THE FACE OF
OUR HEALTH CAMPAIGN SINCE 2018
TO SHARE INFORMATION RELATED TO
RISK AND MONKEY POX. WE HAVE
DONE SO CREATING MESSAGES THAT
RESONATE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND
ON PLATFORMS THAT ARE MOST
ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE WHO ARE AT
HIGHEST RISK FOR MPV. WE'VE ALSO
BEEN REACHING OUT ACROSS THE
COUNTRY TO CREATE A MORE UNIFIED
DEMAND FOR INCREASED RESOURCES.
WE CO HOSTED THE NATIONAL PRESS
CONFERENCE WITH THE NATIONAL
COALITION OF STD DIRECTORS AND
THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN,
ASKING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
FOR MORE RESOURCES IN THE
RESPONSE AND TO CONSIDER
DECLARING A FEDERAL STATE OF
EMERGENCY. AND WE'RE PANELISTS
AS A PART OF THE CENTERS FOR
DISEASE CONTROL'S LISTENING
SESSION WITH HIV COMMUNITY
LEADERS ON MONKEY POX. WE
DEMANDED TO DECLARE A STATE OF
EMERGENCY. WE SAW THAT HERE IN
SAN FRANCISCO THAN IN THE STATE
OF CALIFORNIA AND CONTINUE TO
PUSH FOR A FEDERAL STATE OF
EMERGENCY, WHICH WE NOW HAVE,
AND WE HOPE THAT THIS DECISION
WILL BRING GREATER RESOURCES AND
ATTENTION TO THE MONKEY POX
RESPONSE. NOT ONLY HERE IN SAN
FRANCISCO BUT THROUGHOUT THE
STATE. WE HOPE THAT THIS WILL
EXPEDITE THE REDIRECTION OF
RESOURCES NEEDED TO INCREASE THE
FLOW OF TESTING TREATMENT
VACCINE, UM, WITHOUT THE NEED
FOR CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL AND
TO DEPLOY THE GOVERNMENT
PERSONNEL NEEDED TO ADDRESS
MONKEYPOX DURING THIS TIME, BUT
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE
FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS
BEEN DECLARED MONTHS TOO LATE.
OUR COMMUNITIES WILL CONTINUE TO
SUFFER BECAUSE OF THIS DELAYED
RESPONSE. AND THERE'S BEEN
SIGNIFICANT COSTS, ESPECIALLY IN
THIS MOMENT WHERE THE GOVERNMENT
MOVED TOO SLOWLY. I WANTED TO
PAUSE AND RECOGNIZE THE
RESILIENCE OF OUR COMMUNITY TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN THIS MOMENT
, THE TEAM AT SAN FRANCISCO AIDS
FOUNDATION, THE LOS ANGELES LGBT
CENTER AND COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE STATE
OF CALIFORNIA AND CALIFORNIA AND
OUR COUNTRY. UM, HAVE BEEN DOING
THEIR BEST TO RESPOND IN A VERY
COMPLICATED MOMENT. WE AT SAN
FRANCISCO HEADS FOUNDATION HAVE
DONE OUR BEST. WITH THE LIMITED
RESOURCES. WE HAVE TO SCALE UP
VACCINATION HAVING VACCINATED
12-1 1002 109 PEOPLE AND ABOUT
204 VACCINE DOSES LEFT ON HAND,
WHICH ARE SCHEDULED THROUGH OUR
DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS OVER THE
NEXT WEEK AND HOPEFULLY WILL
LAST US UNTIL THE NEXT VACCINES
ARRIVE HERE IN THE CITY. BUT
THAT DOESN'T ADDRESS ARE GROWING
. WAIT LIST THAT NOW HAS 11,222
. PEOPLE IN LINE WERE ACTIVELY
MOVING THROUGH THAT WAIT LIST
AND MAKING APPOINTMENTS AS
QUICKLY AS WE CAN. BUT OUR WAIT
LIST IS GROWING FASTER THAN WE
ARE RECEIVING VACCINATIONS HERE
IN THE CITY. WE'VE BEEN GETTING
VACCINATION OUT TO ALL THOSE
THAT WE BELIEVE ARE AT HIGHEST
RISK. THOSE WHO HAVE DOCUMENTED
EXPOSURES WERE CLOSE CONTACTS.
THEY'VE BEEN PREDOMINANTLY AMONG
GAY BI TRANS MEN AND TRANS WOMEN
AND MANY OF THE PEOPLE ON OUR
WAIT LIST ARE ALSO STILL
STANDING IN LINES AT OUR WALK IN
CLINICS ACROSS THE CITY. WE'RE
WORKING TO RAISE THAT RACIAL
EQUITY AND THE BEST WAYS THAT WE
CAN IN THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE
THAT WE HAVE DIAGNOSED AND
VACCINATED AT OUR SEXUAL HEALTH
CLINIC ARE AMONG BIPAC
INDIVIDUALS. AND WE KNOW THAT WE
CAN REACH THESE COMMUNITIES AS
WE ARE WELL POSITIONED AS A
TRUSTED, CULTURALLY COMPETENT
PROVIDER OF GAY AND BI MEN,
SEXUAL HEALTH IN OUR COMMUNITY.
A QUICK VISUAL SNAPSHOT OF THIS
DATA WILL SHOW YOU THAT THE
MAJORITY OF THOSE UM, THAT ARE
BEING VACCINATED ARE AMONG
COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. UM AT OUR
CLINIC. THAT THOSE WHO ARE BEING
VACCINATED ARE ABOUT 80% GAY BI
GENDER MEN, 12% TRANSGENDER AND
NON VIA NERI AND 69% BETWEEN THE
AGES OF 25 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING OUR HARDEST
TO GET FOLKS TESTED. WE'VE
CURRENTLY TESTED 110 PEOPLE WITH
67 POSITIVES. 35 NEGATIVE AND
EIGHT STILL PENDING AND THE
DEMOGRAPHICS OF THOSE
INDIVIDUALS ARE HERE ON THE
SCREEN FOR YOU TO SEE AND LEAGUE
UM YOU KNOW, THEY CONTINUE TO
RESPONSE. UM HAD WILL HAVE
LASTING IMPACT, AS ALL OF MY
COLLEAGUES HAVE SHARED THEIR
PREVIOUSLY WE HAVE SPENT A LOT
OF CAPACITY OF OUR STAFF OF OUR
RESOURCES, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
AND UNPLANNED SUPPLIES AND
COMMUNICATION TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SOMEONE ASKED EARLIER IF THERE
ARE ANY LONG TERM COMPLICATIONS
, AND MY RESPONSE WOULD BE THAT
WE CAN'T OVERSTATE THAT MONKEY
POX WILL CAUSE EXTREME DISTRESS
, FEAR, ANXIETY AND PAIN TO OUR
COMMUNITY THAT THERE WILL BE
UNFORTUNATE AND LASTING
CONSEQUENCES TO OUR COMMUNITIES
BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT'S THE RESPONSE TO
THIS OUTBREAK. IN THE EARLIEST
DAYS OF HIV. IT WAS CALIFORNIA
CITIES LIKE SAN FRANCISCO AND L
. A. THAT GROWS UP AS THE
LEADERS TO PROTECT OUR PEOPLE.
MY CHALLENGES ALL IN EVERY
MOMENT. WE CONTINUE THROUGH THIS
NIGHTMARE TO ASK OURSELVES HOW
WE'RE SHOWING UP IN THIS MOMENT
AND HOW WE WILL ACT UP TO FIVE
MONTHS, TOPS. GREAT THANK YOU SO
MUCH. AND THEN OUR FINAL WITNESS
OF THE DAY IS SHOW HOLLANDE
HONOR, THE CEO OF THE LOS
ANGELES LGBT CENTER. WELCOME. HI
WELCOME. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON. I WISH TO THINK THIS
LIKE COMMITTEE FOR THIS
OPPORTUNITY AND SPECIFICALLY
EXPRESSED MY GRATITUDE THE CHAIR
SENATOR WEINER FOR HIS CONTINUED
LEADERSHIP, THE CENTER FULLY
SUPPORTS THE EMERGENCY MNKEYPOX
BUDGET APPROPRIATION. AND I ALSO
WANT TO THINK THAT MY FELLOW
PANELISTS FOR THEIR COMMENTS AND
THEIR ACTIONS, THEIR RESPECTIVE
ORGANIZATIONS ARE TAKING THE
CARE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. LOS
ANGELES LGBT CENTER WAS FOUNDED
IN 1969, AND IT'S THE LARGEST
LGBT ORGANIZATION IN THE WORLD.
IN TOTAL, MORE THAN 50,000
VISITS ARE UNCOMPLETED AS OUR 10
SITES ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY
EACH MONTH. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE
, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO PRIMARY
MEDICAL CARE, MENTAL HEALTH
COUNSELING, SEXUAL HEALTH
SERVICES, HOUSING AND OTHER
SUPPORT PROGRAMS. MORE RECENTLY
AND IN RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT
CRISIS, WE HAVE BEGUN TESTING,
TREATING AND VACCINATING FOR
HUMAN MONKEY THOUGHTS. TODAY WE
HAVE DIAGNOSED NEARLY 20% OF L.
A COUNTY'S CONFIRMED CASES AND
WE HAVE VACCINES OVER 1600
ELIGIBLE PATIENTS. HUMAN
MONKEYPOX IS NOT THE CENTER'S
FIRST TIME THAT WE HAVE
RESPONDED TO A PUBLIC HEALTH
CRISIS IN OUR COMMUNITY. WHETHER
IT IS HIV AIDS OVERDOSE,
HOMELESSNESS OR COVID, 19. WE
HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. UNLESS
THERE IS A RADICAL CHANGE TO OUR
PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM. I FEAR
WE'LL BE HERE AGAIN WITH THE L G
B T Q COMMUNITY, SPECIFICALLY
THOSE WHO ARE BLACK AND LATIN
NEXT CONTINUING TO BE THE
CANARIES IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH
COAL MINES. THE FAILURE OF THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RESPOND
WITH THE URGENCY NECESSARY TO
PREVENT THE PHYSICAL AND
EMOTIONAL SUFFERING FELT BY THE
LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY IS BEYOND
DISAPPOINTING. WE HAVE HAD EVERY
INDICATION THAT MONKEY POX WAS
BECOMING A GLOBAL HEAD, SPRITE
HEALTH BREAD, AND YET IT IS
CLEAR THAT THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT WAS NOT PREPARED.
WHAT IS MOST APPALLING IS THAT
COVID HAS PREPARED PROVIDED THE
WHITE HOUSE. HHS CDC, FDA AND
EVERY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY WITH
RECENT EXPERIENCE MANAGING A
PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. STILL THEY
HAVE NOT LEARNED THE LESSONS
NECESSARY TO PREVENT AN OUTBREAK
FROM BECOMING ATTEND THEM.
WHAT'S WORSE, UNLIKE COVID WITH
HUMAN MONKEYPOX, THERE HAVE BEEN
TOOLS TO STOP THE SPREAD LONG
BEFORE THE FIRST CASE WAS
DETECTED IN THE UNITED STATES.
YET VACCINES AND THE NATIONAL
STOCKPILE CARELESSLY EXPIRED,
RESULTING IN INSUFFICIENT ACCESS
WITHIN COMMUNITIES MOST IMPACTED
AND PROMISING TREATMENTS
CONTINUE TO BE MADE CHALLENGING
TO ACCESS BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT
BUREAUCRACY. IT IS CLEAR THAT
THE FEDERAL HANDBOOK FOR DEALING
WITH PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES
NEEDS TO BE OVERHAULED. AND THE
FIRST PAGE HAT NEEDS TO BE
IMMEDIATELY REVISED IS THE ONE
THAT CALLS FOR SHIFTING THE
RESPONSIBILITY AND BLAME TO
STATE AND LOCAL HEALTH
DEPARTMENT. IN FACT, I WISH TO
THANK GOVERNOR NEWSOM AND THE
LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS DECLARING HUMAN
MONKEYPOX OF PUBLIC HEALTH
SAVING EMERGENCY BEFORE THE
WHITE HOUSE. NOW THAT EMERGENCY
THAT HAS BEEN DECLARED THE
COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL
LEVELS NEED OUR ELECTED
OFFICIALS TO ACT WITH URGENCY
NECESSARY TO CONTROL THIS
OUTBREAK. IN THE SHORT TERM. THE
CENTER ECHOES EARLIER COMMENTS
AND CALLS ON THE STATE TO DO THE
FOLLOWING. FIRST USE YOUR BULLY
PULPIT TO DEMAND THAT CALIFORNIA
AND MORE SPECIFICALLY COUNTIES
WITH THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF
HUMAN MONKEYPOX RECEIVED THE
NECESSARY VACCINE DOSES TO
ENSURE THAT ALL AT RISK
COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS TO TWO
DOSES. AND THAT TREATMENT MORE.
WIDELY. THIS INCLUDES PRESSURE
ON HEALTH PLANS TO PROVIDE
SERVICES THAT WILL NOT ONLY
PROTECT PEOPLE FROM CONTRACTING
MONKEY POX AND TREAT THEM WITH
THE WHEN THEY'RE DEVELOPING
SYMPTOMS BUT ALSO HELPED TO
OFFSET THE THAT IS CURRENTLY
BEING PLACED ON THE PUBLIC.
SYSTEM. IMMEDIATELY MAY FUNDING.
THE RESPONSE.
MANY ORGANIZATIONS STRUGGLING TO
KEEP UP WITH THE OVERWHELMING
DEMAND RELATED TO MONKEYPOX
TESTING TREATMENT AND THAT.
WE'RE DOING THIS WITH ANY
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE. OR.
TRANSMISSION AND THE STIGMA
ASSOCIATED WITH MULTI PATH AND
ALLOCATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO
HELP SUPPORT PEOPLE DIAGNOSED
WITH HUMAN MONKEYPOX, ISOLATE
SEEKING, PLEASE. THIS INCLUDES
TEMPORARY HOUSING. AND. FOX'S
IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITIES. THIS
INCLUDES ADHERING TO THE STATE'S
REQUIREMENTS TO COLLECT SO G
DATA. IT IS ALREADY CLEAR FROM
THE DATA IN L. A COUNTY THAT THE
PRICES A IMPACT. ON BLACK.
LATIN. GAMES. BISEXUAL. AND MORE
ACCURATE DATA ALLOW FOR A MORE
INTERVENTION. RECOUNTED LIKELY
DUE TO THE LACK OF CULTURAL
COMPETENCY WITHIN THE PUBLIC
HEALTH SYSTEM. RELATED TO DATA
COORDINATION, A CENTRALIZED,
USER FRIENDLY MASS DETAILING
WHERE AND WHEN VACCINES ARE
AVAILABLE ACROSS CALIFORNIA. WAS
SICK. INCREASE AND INCREASED
ACCESS. AND THE PANIC. CREATED
BY THE CURRENT. UNCERTAINTY.
BENDING THE PUBLIC HEALTH.
NURSES AND KANSEN. TRACE. AND
FUND. INITIATIVE. TO ADDRESS.
AND SEXUAL. ORIENTATION. HEALTH.
DISPARITIES. I HOPE THAT CAN
RELY ON THIS COMMITTEE. TO
CHAMPION FUTURE. H. E. BUDGET
ACT.
OKAY? WANNA THANK YOU. YOU ALL
FOR YOUR WORK? ON THE GROUND? ON
THE FRONT? LINES? AND IT'S
IMPORTANT. FOR THE PUBLIC. TO
COMMENT. AND UH ARE. THIS IS
DIFFERENT THAN HERE. WHERE
PEOPLE JUST STATE. THEIR
SUPPORT. OPPOSITION UM IF Ó
COULD JUST STATE, NAME.
AFFILIATION, BENNY. AND JUST
MAKE, UH BRIEF. REAM. THAT WOULD
BE, SO WE'LL SEE. WITH PUBLIC
COM. LIVE IN ROOM HERE. FOLKS.
COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE.
ACCOMMODATION WHEN THEY
ROOMMATES. COME DOWN. WITH
BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO GET
IT. IT'S EVERY WEARING. SLEEVES
WHEN THEY GO OUT. GO, DAN. THEY
WANT TO. RUB UP. AGAINST SOME.
UM. OH, FOR BEING HERE AND
POLICE SUPPORT, ALLOCATING
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS
THE VIRUS. THE VIRAL OUTBREAK.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. BYE BYE.
EMPLOYER SPONSORED PUBLIC POLICY
AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION
DEDICATED TO SOLVING OUR REGIONS
MORE MOST CHALLENGING ISSUES AND
ON BEHALF OF OUR 350. PLUS
MEMBERS. WE WANT TO SAY THANK
YOU TO YOU, SENATOR WEINER AND
OF COURSE, SENATOR KOBACH. FOR
HERE TODAY. UM WE HER A LOT
ABOUT THE LESSONS. LEARNED FROM
. I HOPE WE DON'T FORGET. THOSE
LESSONS. HERE AND YOU KNOW.
REALLY. CRITICAL.
IN ER D. THAT LOW. IN THE BEAR.
BIG THANK YOU TO GOVERNOR.
NEWSOM. COURSE FOR THE STATE. OF
EMERGENCY. WE TO MAKE SURE WE
GET OUT OF THIS. AND THE
BUSINESS. STAND. READY TO BE TO
OUR COMMUNITY. PARTNERS. MAKE
SURE KEEP OUR COMMUNITIES SAFE.
AND. WE KEEP OURS. SAFE. SO
THANK YOU. SO. MUCH FOR THIS.
HERE. LOOK FOR TO WORKING WITH.
FURTHER. WANT TO ECHO, OF
COURSE. AS SPOKES. STATED THAT.
SUPPORT FOR THAT. THAT. BUDGET
ASK. FOR RESOURCES. HAS TO BE.
RESOURCED AND WELL. THOUGHT OUT.
THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT.
CONVERSATION. HOPE TO HAVE MORE.
AND THE SERVICE. WE THANK YOU
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. OF THAT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR MARTIN.
AND THE OTHER PUBLIC? COMMENT
HERE? AND HERE? ROOM? SAYING
NONE. WILL MOVE TO THE PHONE.
LINES. AH. WELL, THE MÀ PLAYS
QUÊ. UP. PUBLIC COMMENT. ON THE
PHONE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR, 22. LINE IS
OPEN. HOLDING THEIR VERY
IMPORTANT DISCUSSION TODAY. I'M
DAVID BRINKMAN, CEO OF HEALTH,
THE COACHELLA VALLEY PRIMARY,
NOT ACROSS IT. RESOURCE FOR THE
LGBT AND HIV POSITIVE COMMUNITY
AS THE FEDERALLY QUALIFIED
HEALTH CENTER IS OUR MISSION TO
IMPROVE THE HEALTH. OF THE. THE
DISENFRANCHISED. SID ORATION TO
THE UNIQUE RISK FACTORS THAT
WILL PREDISPOSED TO HIGHER
LEVELS OF EXPOSURE AND INFECTION
FROM MONKEY POTS. AT THE PRESENT
, THE STATE HAS FOCUSED ITS
RESPONSE ON A REGIONS. MONKEYS.
CASE. AS WELL. AS THE NUM. OF
SYPHILIS. MEN.
IS CAPTURED AND REPORTED AT AN
INDIVIDUAL'S MEDICAL HOME. THESE
METRICS SIMPLY CAPTURE WHERE AN
AND EXPOSED INDIVIDUAL RESIDES,
AND THIS DOES NOTHING TO PREVENT
EXPOSURE OR INFECTION FROM
OCCURRING. IN THE FIRST. PLACE.
I RISK PATIENTS THAT TAKE DOXY
PREP. A DRUG THAT CAN PREVENT
FBI INCLUDING SYPHILIS. NOW. I
CERTAINLY APPRECIATE WE'RE IN
THE EARLY STAGES OF OUR RESPONSE
, SO MY GOAL IS NOT TO BE
CRITICAL, BUT TO ENCOURAGE YOU
TO CALIBRATE THE STATE'S
RESPONSE. TO FOCUS ON THE. HIGH
RISK BEHAVIOR AND IS TAKING
PLACE.
32 EVENT. SCHEDULE. IN THE
COACH. VALLEY. THIS SUMMER. WE
COULD EASILY HAVE, HUH? IF
THOUSANDS. NEW MONEY. POX.
CASES. ATTRIBUTED OUR AREA. BUT
BECAUSE DATA IS RECORD AT
PATIENT WHEN THEY RETURN HOME.
THE STATE IS MISSING. HUGE. TO
STAY. RESOURCES. AND RISK.
REGION.
AS FAR AS THIS BECOME A PANDA.
WE WOULD NEED TO. AND TREATMENT
OPTIONS FOR THIS VIRUS. UM
MONKEYPOX LAST ABOUT 5 TO 21
DAYS FOR NIH. WEBSITE. AND MY
SUGGESTION WOULD BE THE ISOLATE.
STAY HOME GET TREATMENT. THAT
WOULD HELP PREVENT THE SPREAD.
MONKEY POX IS SAID TO BE A
SPREAD. UM FRIENDS WERE ANIMALS.
ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATION. AND MAYBE WE
SHOULD SPEAK ON HOW WE CAN FOCUS
WE SHOULD. WE SHOULD FOCUS OUR
MAYBE ON THAT AS AS A WAY TO
COMBAT THIS VIRUS. POKY FOCUSING
ON WHERE IT ACTUALLY COMES FROM.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING AND I LOOK FORWARD TO
MORE DISCUSSIONS ON THIS TOPIC.
YEAH AND LOOKING INTO DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES AS WE MOVE FORWARD
WITH CREATING THIS COMMUNITY
COURSE DISEASE. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH NEXT
SPEAKER. OUR NEXT COMMUNIST,
RELYING 62. GOOD AFTERNOON CRAIG
FROM BEHALF OF THE TELEHEALTH
AND SUHT SERVING THE LGBT
COMMUNITY CLINIC LOCATIONS
ACROSS L. A COUNTY FIRST JUST
WANT TO EXPRESS OUR THANKS TO
CENTER WEINER AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE. FOR YOUR ONGOING. ON
THE ISSUE. AND OTHER CONCERNS.
WANT TO HIGHLIGHT ONE ISSUE THAT
WAS DISCUSSED BRIEFLY DURING THE
HEARING, AND THAT AROUND MEDICAL
REIMBURSEMENT FOR MONKEY POX
VACCINE ADMINISTRATION INCLUDE
FOR SUS. JUST YESTERDAY. THE H
RELEASED NOTICE INDICATE THAT
THEY WOULD BE NO SEPARATE.
REIMBURSE. MONKEYPOX BACK.
ADMINISTRATION.
SO UNDER THE AGE GUIDANCE WE
WILL NOT RECEIVE. ANY RE. FOR
MONTHS. PROSPECTING ADMINISTERED
OUR MEDICAL PATIENTS ARE JUST
IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT PHDS
PREVIOUSLY THE COSTS ASSOCIATED
WITH PROVIDING COVID VACCINE AND
MUST STAY HERE IS PROVIDING
SEPARATE REIMBURSEMENT FOR COVID
VACCINE ADMINISTRATION THAT S U
H P S TO, WE'RE TRUE.
DISAPPOINT. THAT DEPART. IS NOT
KILLING THE SAME. SUPPORT DURING
THE MY POX. OPERATE.
COMMENT IS FROM LINES 77 0. HE'S
HOLDING A BIRD SHIP WITH EDUCATE
ADVOCATE THEIR FAMILIES
THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA WITH
EXCEPTIONAL NEED. WHAT HAS BEEN
REALLY HARD FOR MOST OF OUR
FAMILIES UNDERSTAND IS THE
BLATANT HYPOCRISY THAT EXISTS
WITH HOW WE WERE HANDLING.
MONKEYPOX. COMPARED TO HOW WE
Cí
AND FAMILY AND DENIED DENIED
ACCESS. AND YET THE ADVISEMENT
COMING OUT AND SEE AND SEE
COUNTIES MONTHLY BOXES. NOT FOR
THE COMMUNE. THAT MONEY. POX. IS
DIRECT. IMPACT. WE WOULD
ENCOURAGE THIS. COMMITTEE.
CONSIDER THE TOPIC. EQUITY.
REMEMBERING WHAT DONE TO FAMILY.
AND. ACKNOWLEDGING.
VERY MUCH. YOU JUST KNOW. FOR
THE BENEFIT. THE PUBLIC. THAT IS
NOT BEING. IT'S THE. IS NOT AS
AN ATTENUATE. LIVE VIRUS. I
THINK INCAPABLE OF REPLICA AND
TISSUE. NEXT.
COMMITTEE AND THE LEADER. ON THE
PRESSING INVOLVING ISSUE. WE
ALSO THAT. SLIPPED OUT. A STATE
OF EMERGE. SUPPORT THE RESPONSE.
TO MY POX.
UNDERTAKE THE PUBLIC. HEALTH
RESPONSE. TO MONKEY. W'VE TO
EARN CLEAR DECEMBER OF
CULTURALLY. SCIENCE BASED
INFORMATION. MONK. POX. TO
REDUCE THE UNFORTUNATE.
ONSLAUGHT. OF MISINFORMATION AND. DISINFORMATION ON THIS ISSUE.
FIVE. FIND 75. PLEASE GO AHEAD.
DEAR CHAIRMAN WIENER AND MEMBERS
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, CALIFORNIA
BEGIN INVESTIGATING THE FIRST
CASE OF MONKEY POX ON MAY 21
2022. A HOME LATER. THE HOUSE
AND THE CENTER STRATEGY. CONTROL
AND PREVENTION ANNOUNCED.
NATIONALS. SEEMS. A BOMB.
PARIS. THERE ARE TYPES OF ORTHO
POX VIRUS. SMALL ALASKA. PARK.
AND MORE. NOVEL CORONAVIRUS HAS
MULTIPLE NAME CHANGES. FIRST, IT
WAS FIRST KOBE T. THEN. COVID.
19. WELL. HUMAN DEPART. IS
RELATE. TO THE VERY VIRUS. VAR.
THE R V. AND FOR SURE.
SCIENTIFIC NAME. FOR THE
DISEASE. COULD BE VAR. TO AS
NOVEL STRING. DETECTED. IN THE
YEAR. 22.
AND RESOURCES TO FIGHT THE
VIRUS. AS WE WANT TO SLOW THE
SPREAD. I ADVOCATE ELIMINATING
THE VIRUS BY COORDINATING AND
MASSIVE AND AGGRESSIVE VACCINE
CAMPAIGN BECAME ACCESS THE TEST.
ANTIVIRAL TREAT. WITH SPENDING.
THE BACK IT UP. ASKING FOR THEM
TO REQUEST VACCINE. THEY TELL ME
AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT THEY ARE
WAITING PERCEIVED PHùLOT
VACCINE NOW THAT OUR COUNTY
REPORTED THE FIRST CASE IN LIKE
THE PARK ON AUGUST 4TH 2022 THE
COUNTY CANNOT WITH THE VACCINE.
NHIàU CONTINUOUSLY THAT SCENE
STRATEGY FOR ALL, INCLUDING
RESIDENCES. COUNTY BY DO NOT
POSSIBLE. PART OF THIS IS
CREATING STIGMA AND THE LGBT
COMMUNITY. THE VIRUS IS
SPREADING TO ARGUMENTS NO MATTER
WHO THEY LOVE. THE VIRUS HAS
POTENTIAL TO SPREAD IN THE
PUBLIC PARKS, RELIGIOUS
CONGREGATIONS SMOOTH CHEN
CAPITOL BUILDING. AND EVEN THE
WORK. NIGHT AND HAPPENED OF
FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL
COORDINATED STRATEGY. CALIFORNIA
LEDGE. LEGISLATORS HAVE THE
RESPONSIBILITY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S
WORN TO PROTECT CALIFORNIA.
COVID PAY PROGRAM, WHICH EXPIRES
IN SEPTEMBER, IN ORDER TO
PROTECT THOSE INFECTED AND
PROTECT THE GENERAL POPULATION.
INFECTED INDIVIDUALS SHOULD NOT
STRUGGLE THROUGH THE
BUREAUCRATIC COMPLEX ENVIRONMENT
CREATED HEALTHCARE DELIVERY
SYSTEM IN ORDER TO ACCESS
TESTING AND TREATMENT, SUCH AS
TEAPOT. ADDITION TO THE SIX
WEEKS PTO PROGRAM IF THE
LEGISLATURE IS SERIOUS ABOUT
ELIMINATING THE VIRUS, WE HAVE A
SOLUTION FOR ISOLATED ONCE COULD
BE. AND MUCH OF THE NEW YORK
PROGRAM FROM MONKEYPOX INFECTED
PERSONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
FOR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED BY
YOU AND THE GUESTS THOUGHT THAT
WORK. YOUR WORK IN THE HEALTH
CRISIS AND EXPECT MORE HEARING
AND MORE ACTIONS FROM THE SELECT
COMMITTEE. UNLUCKY PART. AGAIN I
URGE YOU TO HELP ME IN MY
COMMUNITY. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, NEXT
SPEAKER. WE HAVE LINE 69. HELLO
THANK YOU. MR CHAIR AND SENATOR
WIENER. MY NAME IS JACOB GRISAFI
, CEO OF QUEER WORKS IN THE
COACHELLA VALLEY. AND I'M
SPEAKING FOR THE SMALLER VOICES
THAT AREN'T ABLE TO BE HERE
TODAY TO SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.
THE CAKE FOR THEMSELVES, AS WELL
AS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WORKED WITH
HIRING. PEOPLE ARE SEXUAL
ORIENTATIONS AND GENDER
IDENTITIES. I'M HERE JUST TO
ECHO THE NEED OF ACCESS TO
VACCINES AND SHAME TO REDUCE
PREVENTION METHOD, ESPECIALLY IN
THE AREAS SUCH AS PALM SPRINGS,
AND WE CAN REALLY SIDE TONY
PEOPLE SO MUCH OR ALL OF THIS
AND I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
GET AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS VINNIE
AND I'M, A RESIDENT OF SAN
FRANCISCO AND A MEMBER OF THE
ALISON COPE WITH LGBTQ
DEMOCRATIC CLUB, THE OLDEST LGBT
QUÊ. IN THE NAME. I'M ALSO PART
OF A GROUP OF AT THAT BEEN
DEMAND. A MRE URGENT TO THE
HARM. OF THE FAILED RESPONSE.
ALL LEVELS.
WELL LEVEL AND FOR SOCIALLY
PROPOSING AN IMMEDIATE $38.5
MILLION BUDGET ALLOCATION.
DIRECTED TOWARDS MPX RESPONSE. I
ALSO WANTED TO THANK SENATOR
MINA FOR CONTEXTUALIZING. THIS
DISCUSSION AROUND THE
APPLICATION OF GOVERNMENT
LEADERS IN ADDRESSING MPS FOR
YEARS WHERE IT WAS ALREADY
ENDEMIC, NAMELY IN AFRICAN
COUNTRIES. WE HAVE HEARD A LOT
TODAY ABOUT THE TO AUTHORIZE
EMERGENCY USE OF EXISTING
VACCINE SUPPLY BY STRETCHING
EACH DOSE IN THE FIVE. BUT
FRANKLY, THAT POLICY CHOICE IS A
RISKY ONE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THT
CURRENT CASE RAISES RATES SHOW
THAT NEARLY 40% OF ACTIVE CASES
ARE INDIVIDUALS WITH A DIAGNOSIS
OF H. AIDS. THEY DESERVE. THE
FULL TWO DOES. THAT DOES NOT
HIDE BEHIND AN UNSTABLE VACCINE
SUPPLY. THIS INCLUDES FUNDING
PAID SICK LEAVE RIGHT TO RECOVER
PROGRAM FUNDING ISOLATION,
LODGING FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO
CANNOT ISOLATE SAFELY WHERE THEY
ARE EXPANDING. CALIFORNIA
NOTIFIED SUPPORT. AND
NOTIFICATION. AND FUND SP.
CLINIC. ARE CHILLED. THE BRUNT.
OF AGNES. AND TREATMENT.
PRIMARY. AND INFECTIONS WON'T BE
FIRED FROM THEIR JOBS BECAUSE
THEY ARE FOLLOWING PUBLIC HEALTH
ORDERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR, AND
YOU'RE ONGOING LEAD. TO MITIGATE
THE CURRENT HARM C. MEMBERS.
ARE EXPERIENCE. IT SHOULD NOT BE
TWO MEDIUM. HER AND BEGGING FOR
HELP. OR MEANINGFUL. ADVANCED.
THE STATE LEVEL. WE DEMAND THAN
THE ABANDONMENT. EXHIBIT. BY
GOVERNMENT. AND PUBLIC. HEALTH.
SINCE. INFECTIONS WERE
IDENTIFIED. IN. AND. AND WE.
HOPE WITH YOUR.
UM. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT IS THE
STATE DOING ACTION REGURGITATED.
YEAH, THANK YOU. THANK YOU NEXT
SPEAKER. NEXT. WE HAVE LINES 64.
HELLO MY NAME IS MATT HICKS. I'M
A RESIDENT OF HOMS SPRINGS. I'VE
LIVED HERE FOR SEVERAL DECADES.
I LIVED IN SAN FRANCISCO AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE AIDS CRISIS AND
MY HUSBAND TO THAT CRISIS BACK
IN 94. SAY THIS BECAUSE I WANT
TO LET YOU YOU KNOW. THAT BEEN
TALKED. HERE. IS THAT THE
RESPONSE? BY OF OUR COMMUNITY?
UM, SPRINGS TO BE CANCELED WITH
REGARD TO THIS UNTIL WE CAN GET
OUR VACCINE. I'VE TALKED TO MANY
FRIENDS BOTH HERE AND ACROSS THE
COUNTRY. THEY COULD TIP AND
COULD BUY. THIS IS SAYING WE'RE
CHANGE. PLANS. RIGHT? WE'RE
THINK THE COMMUNITY IS. GOING IN
ITS, UH. AND A RISK. WAY.
THE SPREAD WILL JUST CONTINUE.
AND ANOTHER THAT I HAD HEARD
THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO
VERIFY IS THAT THE AREAS OF
PROVINCETOWN AND FIRE ISLAND,
WHICH ARE ALSO LARGE DAY RESORTS
LIKE SPRINGS. AND FRANKLY, FORT
LAUDER. UH THE THOSE OTHER TWO
IN THE UPPER E. HAVE GOT RATHER
LARGE. SETS. OF ALLAH. VACCINE.
AGAIN I ECHO ALL THE FROM V I P
HELP YOU'RE IN PALM SPRINGS
RECOGNIZED THE LEADERSHIP AND
SOME OF OUR CITY COUNCIL AND, OF
COURSE, THE LEADERSHIP OF WITH
SENATOR WEINER AND EVERYONE HAS
WILLING TO BE ON THIS.
COMMITTEE. THANK YOU. MUCH.
THANK YOU. VERY MUCH. NEXT.
SPEAKER. DIRECTOR AND CHIEF
EXXON OLOGISTS ADRIN, A
FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH
CENTER LIKE THAT THE HOSPITAL
AND HISTORICALLY BLACK
INSTITUTION HERE IN SOUTH LOS
ANGELES, BUT WE'RE FOCUSING ON
THE MONK POX. VACCINE. AMONGST
AND BROWN. INDIVIDUALS THAT HIGH
RISK. INCLUDING THE EXPERIENCING
HOUSE. THOSE THAT ARE IN THE, UM.
WORKERS. UM DEFINITELY TO ECHO
OF THE CONCERNS THAT HAVE
ALREADY BEEN RAISED FOR US
THOROUGHLY MESSAGING IN THE
COMMUNITY, NOT ONLY WITHIN THE L
G B T Q. I ASKING. BUT FOR OUR
GREATER COMMUNITY. WHERE THERE
IS FRENZY. PANDEMONIUM ON
ELIGIBILITY. OF THAT. HOW YOU
GET COVID. HOW YOU GET MONKEY.
POX. THOSE ARE ALL CONCERN. THAT
WERE AND SEEING HERE.
WE'RE CHARITIES THAT ARE EVEN
MORE. CHARITABLE. GOOD. WORK TO
KEEP OUR COMMUNITY. SAFE. AND WE
CAN DO MORE OF IT. BUT WE DO.
NEED SUPPORT. OF THE STATE. WE
REALLY IT. THAT YOU ARE. DOING
TO. UM, ADD FOR OUR PATIENTS.
AND. FOR COMMUNITY TOO. UM.
MONKEY POP. AND, OF COURSE, VERY
CONCERNED WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.
INADEQUATE. NOT ONLY HERE, BUT
ALSO, UH, THAT THEY NEED WITHIN
CENTRAL AND. AS WELL. YOU.
VISITORS. COMING PUMPS. AND
RIVERSIDE. COUNTY. WE NEED TO
REQUEST VACCINE. WE NEED THIS
MESSAGE TO BE HEARD AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE. WHAT SPECIFICALLY? BE
REQUIRED. MORE? VACCINE?
PREVENTION? AND PROTECT? OF OUR
VERY YOU? POPULATION.
THE MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AND
CITIES AFTER IN OR ARE INFECTED.
ANY OF LOCAL RESIDENTS.
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS RATIONING
VACCINE TO THE HIGHEST AT RISK,
ONE PHONE CALL ONE INVITATION AT
A TIME. WE NEED TO HAVE THAT AND
WE NEED TO HAVE A. TO BACK. MANY
RISK. BEFORE. THESE EVENTS TAKES
. AT LEA. FOUR WEEKS IN. THANKS.
SO MUCH FOR HEARING ME. I REALLY. ALL OF THE.
AND OR OF PHARMACY. MISSION.
INCENTIVE. MISSION. ALSO KNOWN
AS A LATINA. FOR LATINOS.
DISTRICT. SOUTH FROM MEDICAID,
PHARMACY CARE. LISTEN WELLNESS
HAS BEEN A PHARMACY LEADER IN
CULTURALLY COMPETENT CARE IN HIV
PREVENTION. WITH THE COVID 19
TIMES ARE MAKING VACCINES AND
HAPPENING, AND NOW WE ARE VERY
ENOUGH FOR MONKEY POX VACCINE.
AS MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE
SERIE PHARMACY PROVIDERS HAVE
BEEN ON THE FRONT LINE DURING
THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC, PROVIDING
THE MAJORITY OF VACCINES FOR
COVID AND WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR
MONKEY. BACKS. PROVIDED
THOUSANDS OF COVID VACCINES THE
PAST YEAR AND A HALF WHILE IT'S
AN IMPORTANT WORK, THIS WORK HAS
BEEN EXHAUSTING FOR A PHARMACY
PROVIDERS. THAT MISSION WELLNESS
. WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL THAT THE
PANDEMIC EMERGENCY RESPONSE
FUNDING WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO
PROVIDE AGENCY STAFF AND SUPPORT
PROVIDERS WHO WORKED CLOSELY
WITH PUBLIC HEALTH. PAST YEAR
AND A HALF. WIDE COVE. HAVE AND
THAT SCENE. THAT MUCH POX.
VACCINE. AND LIKE. AND OUR
PHARMACY TEAMS NEED THE
FLEXIBILITY TO UTILIZE. SUPPORT.
EITHER NUMBER TWO INCLUDE AND
SUPPORT PHARMACISTS AS PROVIDERS
FROM THERE WAS TALK EARLIER
ABOUT FIRST AND THERE ARE
ISSUES. THAT. THE PHARMACIST HAS
TO INCLUDED.
YOU. THANK YOU NEXT SPEAKER. OUR
NEXT COMMENT IS FROM LINE 61.
THANK YOU. THIS IS JEFF TAYLOR
WITH THE HIV AND AGING RESEARCH
PROJECT IN PALM SPRINGS. UM I'D
LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT SOME OF
THE MONEY IS DIRECTED TOWARDS
OUR STATE FUNDED UNIVERSITIES TO
DO RESEARCH ON THE NEWLY
APPROVED, UM INTRADERMAL DOSE
THAT'S SPLITTING THE VIALS. WE
HAVE VERY LITTLE RESEARCH ON
THIS. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF
DATA, AND WE'VE GOT GREAT WILK
AT UNIVERSITY. THEY CAN DO THE.
ESPECIALLY IN SPECIAL. PEOPLE
LIVE. WITH HIV. THOSE POLICE
DEPRESSED MEDICATION. AND THOSE
WHO ARE NOT. FIERY ME. AND
OLDER. INDIVIDUAL.
TÌM AND ALL. CREDIT TREATMENT TO
PEOPLE. SIDES. THAT WE DO THIS.
HERE AS. YOUR NEXT COMMENT IS
LYING. 66. UM GOOD AFTERNOON. MY
NAME IS ANDY STONE AND HIM WITH
THIS ON THE HIV NETWORK WHERE
EGG GRAPHIC GROUP OF ACTIVISTS
IN THE BAY AREA FIGHTING TO END
THE HIV. AIDS. EPIDEMIC AND THE
. OF COMMUNITIES. PRACTICES.
HIV. I WANTED TO OFF BY THANK
YOU. YOU TO THE CHAIR. AS WELL.
THE OTHERS. THE SELECT MANY. ON. WHAT. KIND OF. UM. FOR US.
THERE. DISCUSS. HOW STATE IS.
GOING TO RESPOND. TO THIS CRIME.
CHEN. IN QUARANTINE, AND WE ALSO
NEED WORKERS PROTECTION. TO
ENSURE PEOPLE ARE PROTECTED.
WHILE REQUIRING THAT NOT BETWEEN
, UM TO KEEP THEM. AND OTHERS IN
THE COMMUNITY. HEALTHY. AND
HAVING STABILITY. THE JOB. AND
LIKE, I WANT TO UP. ROLE. THAT
AND POTENTIAL. VIOLENCE. ALGAE.
MAY PLAY. AS A RESULT. AS A
RESULT. OF THIS PERSON.
OUTBREAK. WE MUST THE. UM.
ENSURE THAT WE.
WE SEE THE DISTANCE. FRANCHISE.
PACE. THEY'RE NOT BACK. TO
NATURE. THEY JUST ARE. STATES
AND SETTLE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PAY
FOR THE TESTING, JUST LIKE
THEY'RE PAYING FOR COVID TESTING
. UM IT'S JUST UM. IT'S. TEST AT
LAB. AS A CLINIC. WE CAN'T
AFFORD. IT. PROHIBITIVE. UM AS
AS REVERSE. COUNTY.
THANK YOU. IS THERE ANY
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT IN QUÊ
MODERATOR? THANK YOU, MR CHAIR.
NO NO FURTHER COMMENTS IN Q AT
THIS TIME, OKAY. THANK YOU. THAT
CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT WILL
BRING THE MATTER BACK TO THE
COMMITTEE FOR CONCLUDING
COMMENTS, SENATOR, DID YOU HAVE
A CALM? I DID YOU KNOW, I CAME
FROM THESE OTHER. UM. TO STAND.
SOLIDARITY WITH YOU.
FRIENDS. WHO SUFFERED THROUGH
THE H I. CRY. AND PANDEMIC. ARE
FORGOTTEN ABOUT BY THE
GOVERNMENT AND SHAMED BY THE
GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT
THIS WASN'T SEEN AS AN ISSUE
THAT WAS IMPORTANT. AND
LISTENING TO FOLKS ON THE PHONE
, AND ADVOCATES AND EXPERTS TALK
ABOUT MONKEYPOX, UM, IN C TO
WHAT? WE ALL WENT. THROUGH. H I.
AND AIDS. IN THE EIGHT. ISN'T.
TO BE USING THE WEIGHT. OF THIS
STATE TO DEMAND MORE VACCINES TO
DEMAND A GREATER VARIETY OF
VACCINES TO BE TALKING ABOUT
REIMBURSEMENTS FOR OUR PROVIDERS
WHO ARE ON THE FRONT LINES. TO
BE FUNDING. C AND MAKE TO MAKE
SURE THAT STIGMA AND SHAME ARE
OUT OF OUR COMMUNITIES ARE
VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE
ALREADY DISPROPORTIONATELY HAD
TO BATTLE Cí
ABOUT VACCINE. EQUITY. HOW WE
ABOUT COURSES. FOR PREVENTION.
ALL THOSE THINGS ARE THINGS.
THAT WE TO BE. TALKING.
AERATED. IN UM NURSING. HOME.
AND LIVING FACIL. BECAUSE WE
KNOW THAT WE HAVE FRIENDS AND
FAMILY. MEMBERS. AND EVEN THE
STRAIN. ARE PART OF THE LARGER
COMMUNITY. THAT ARE IN. BY. UM
UM. POX. NEED TO KNOW.
CALIFORNIA IS THE.
OUR COUNCILMAN ARM. FROM AND MR
WATSON FOR BEING COURAGEOUS
ENOUGH TO SHARE THEIR. AND THANK
YOU FOR, UM, PUT THIS TO. AND
HELP ALL OF CALAIS. UNDERSTAND?
WHY THEY IS SO. THANK YOU.
BI ON THIS OR SIDE. COMMITTEE.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UM. BEING THE NUMBERS THAT THEY
ARE IN THE LEGISLATURE. MAYBE
WHO'S THOSE TWO? SEE WHY SUCH A
SMALL NUMBER. OF US ARE HERE. UM
I DO THINK YOU FOR THE UPPER TO
BE HERE. BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS
ADVOCATE FOR ALL STATE. AT THE
TABLE. AND IT GIVES ME AN OP. UM
LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS THAT
SPOKE TODAY. I LEARNED LOT.
SMALL D. THAT IT CAN BE
TRANSFERRED TO OUR PETS TO OUR
DOGS. I HAD NO IDEA AND I DON'T
THINK THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE
KNOW THAT IF THAT IS THE CASE,
YOU KNOW WHERE ELSE? MEAN SO IT
STARTING TO. MY RIVERSIDE. ONE
OF THE COUNTIES THAT PRESENT
JUST. IN. EMERGENCY AHEAD.
EMERGENCY. REESE. SO IT IS. WE
NEED TO BE AWARE, BUT THE SILVER
LINING AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE
SURE THAT WE HAVE HOPE IS WE'RE
LISTENING. HAVE A COMMITTEE? YOU
HAVE. A CHAIR THAT. YOU KNOW.
REALLY.
BRING US. COMFORT. THAT IF WE
ACT QUICKLY IF WE ACT
RESPONSIBLY, UM I THINK WE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO REALLY TAKE
CARE OF THIS DISEASE. SO I LOOK
FORWARD TO CONTINUE. WORKING
WITH YOU. THANK YOU. GONNA THINK
ARE FROM SIDES OF THE AISLE FOR
BEING ON THE. WE STARTED AS A
SMALLER COMMITTEE. AND THEN
MEMBER. ASKED TO INCLUDED. IS
GREAT. AND THE MORE THE MERRIER.
NATIVE SESSION AND THE CURRENT
DROPS ON US AT AN AUGUST 31ST
MIDNIGHT. SO BEFORE WE FINISH
OUR SESSION, YOU KNOW, I WAS
VERY FOCUSED ON ON THE BUDGET
APPROPRIATION. THE EMERGENCY
APPROPRIATION WE'VE ASKED FOR
THE $38.5 MILLION I MIGHT KNOW
THAT IT IS IN DISCUSSION AMONG
THE TWO HOUSES OR BUDGET
COMMITTEES AND LEADERSHIP AND
THE GOVERNOR, AND SO WE'RE GOING
TO KEEP PUSHING. AND MEMBERS OF
THE. KNOW WE'LL KEEP PUSHING.
BECAUSE I DON'T WANT. US TO.
HAVE OUR SESSION. AND.
DOLLARS TO THE COLONIES. FOR
THEIR HEALTH. DEPARTMENT. BUT
THAT WAS TOO. REALLY RESOURCED.
COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS
THAT HAVE TRUST BEEN UNDER SO
MUCH FINANCIAL DISTRESS DURING
THE PANDEMIC THAT WAS LIKE MAKE
UP MONEY TO HELP MAKE THEM WHOLE
AND ALLOW THEM TO REBUILD, SO WE
NEED TO GO ABOVE BEYOND. THAT.
UM ALSO GOING TO CONTINUE TO
ADVOCATE PUSH. THE FEDERAL VERY
HARD.
ONE HAS MONKEYPOX HAVING THE. A
DOCTOR SHOULD SIMPLY BE ABLE TO
PRESCRIBE IT AND YOU HAVE IT,
YOU KNOW, IMMEDIATELY. SO THAT
THAT HAS TO CHANGE. AND SO ARE
JUST A NO. OF OTHER WERE GOING
TO BE FOCUSED ON. COURSE. THE
WHOLE BACK. SITUATION AND MAKE
SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IN OUR
POWER TO INCREASE.