Int. No. 620
By Council Members Hudson, Bottcher, Ossé, Schulman, Cabán, Carr, Richardson Jordan, Menin, Powers, Brewer, Brooks-Powers, Restler, Hanif, Ung, Nurse, Farías, Won, Avilés, Narcisse, Velázquez, Williams, Gennaro, Gutiérrez, Ayala, Joseph, Sanchez, Brannan, Abreu, Krishnan, Louis and Lee
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the department of health and mental hygiene to conduct monkeypox education and prevention efforts and establish an infectious disease vaccine scheduling portal
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
City monkeypox vaccination site. The term “city monkeypox vaccination site” means a location at which monkeypox vaccinations are provided to the public that is operated in whole or in part by the department.
Department. The term “department” means the department of health and mental hygiene.
Designated citywide languages. The term “designated citywide languages” has the same meaning ascribed to such term in section 23-1101 of the administrative code of the city of New York.
Monkeypox local state of emergency. The term “monkeypox local state of emergency” means the local state of emergency declared by the mayor in emergency executive order number 158, issued on August 1, 2022, as extended.
b. Monkeypox response plan. No later than 30 days after the effective date of this local law, the department shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council and post on the department’s website a plan to prevent the spread of the monkeypox virus in response to the monkeypox local state of emergency. Such plan shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
1. A description of the steps the department has taken to address the monkeypox state of emergency and to prevent the spread of the monkeypox virus;
2. A description of the steps the department will take to address the monkeypox state of emergency and to prevent the spread of the monkeypox virus;
3. Information on how the monkeypox virus is transmitted and how individuals can avoid becoming infected with and spreading the monkeypox virus;
4. Information on the availability of monkeypox vaccination and treatment options; and
5. A description of any challenges or barriers to addressing the monkeypox state of emergency or preventing the spread of the monkeypox virus, and the department’s recommendations to address such challenges or barriers, if any.
c. Monkeypox education and outreach. No later than 30 days after the effective date of this local law, the department, in collaboration with the office of nightlife and relevant agencies and community organizations, shall conduct a public education and outreach campaign to inform the public about the monkeypox outbreak resulting in the monkeypox state of emergency, including how the disease is transmitted, how to prevent the infection and spread of the virus, and how to obtain vaccination and treatment. Such campaign shall direct its outreach to the communities most at risk of contracting monkeypox, and shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
1. Creating written materials, including but not limited to pamphlets, posters and flyers, in the designated citywide languages;
2. Posting such materials and other relevant information on the websites of the department, the office of nightlife and relevant agencies; and
3. Providing such materials to health care providers, hospitals, shelters, jails, community organizations and food and nightlife establishments to distribute to individuals.
d. Monkeypox vaccine access. 1. No later than 30 days after the effective date of this local law, the department shall coordinate with relevant agencies, community organizations and health care facilities to ensure that communities most at risk of contracting the monkeypox virus and communities that may not have access to vaccines through city monkeypox vaccination sites, including individuals housed in shelters and jails, have adequate access to the monkeypox vaccine.
2. No later than 30 days after the effective date of this local law, and at least weekly thereafter until no city monkeypox vaccination site is in operation, the department shall examine the demographics of individuals who have received the monkeypox vaccine, including but not limited to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity, if such information is available. The department shall adjust the hours of operation and location of city monkeypox vaccination sites based on such examination and the needs of the communities most at risk of contracting the monkeypox virus to ensure adequate and equitable vaccine access for such individuals and communities. Such examination of demographic information shall not include reporting or disclosure of any personally identifiable information.
§ 2. Chapter 1 of title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 17-109.1 to read as follows:
§ 17-109.1 Infectious disease vaccine scheduling portal. a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
COVID-19. The term “COVID-19” means the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Designated citywide languages. The term “designated citywide languages” has the same meaning ascribed to such term in section 23-1101.
b. Establishment of scheduling portal. No later than 30 days after the effective date of the local law that added this section, the department shall establish and maintain an online portal that allows individuals to schedule vaccination appointments for COVID-19, monkeypox and other infectious disease vaccinations available through cooperating providers that may include, but need not be limited to, vaccination locations operated by the department, the health and hospitals corporation and New York state. Such online portal shall display all available appointments across all vaccination locations of cooperating providers, organized by date and time and filterable by zip code and eligibility category, and shall allow for the scheduling of such available vaccination appointments. Such online portal shall be made available to the public in the designated citywide languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with section 23-802.
c. Privacy. The department shall take all necessary steps to protect the privacy of individuals who access the infectious disease vaccine scheduling portal as established by subdivision b of this section and to ensure that any personally identifiable information provided by individuals to schedule vaccination appointments is secure and confidential.
§ 3. This local law takes effect immediately.
JEF
LS # 9432 10074 10093 10101 10102 10103 10177
8/5/2022 10:39am