Members of the DC Council lobbied the district health department to release a dashboard to track monkeypox cases. On Wednesday, the data was released, with officials reporting 350 cases in the district.

According to the latest data from the Department of Health, cases of DC monkeypox were mainly confirmed in men and people in their early 30s. Trackers currently classify cases based on gender identity, race, ward and age.

As of Wednesday, 167 cases were reported in people identified as white and 128 in people identified as black. Wards 1 and 2 reported the most cases.

The publication comes after eight council members wrote to the district’s current director of health, Dr. Sharon Lewis, on Monday. Promoted publicity and praised the agency’s work.

“This is about governments working together toward a common goal: keeping Washington, D.C. residents healthy and protected from monkeypox.” Silverman said in a tweet.

In a letter from council members, they used dashboards and other materials to highlight “broader communication to low-risk populations” about the monkeypox virus.

“Many residents who are not considered at high risk for monkeypox are terrified for themselves and for children returning to school later this month,” the member said. I don’t feel I have enough information to know what is, or how to protect myself and my family.”

With increased communication, Council members Silberman, Charles Allen, Anita Bonds, Mary Che, Brianna Nadeau, Brooke Pinto, Robert White, and Trayon White called for equitable distribution of the monkeypox vaccine.

“We are interested in learning more about how DC Health is applying the lessons learned during COVID to the monkeypox situation regarding vaccine delivery and distribution,” the letter continued.

In addition, members provided DC Health with “data on vaccine distribution and other relevant characteristics by ward. Outline of outreach activities to those who have access/in some way access, description of appointment scheduling process, specifically how appointments can be scheduled for those with limited or no internet access .”

The district’s current monkeypox data (as of Tuesday, August 16) have been updated at https://t.co/E6wFDQf4OH.

Current MPX cases in DC: 350

For more data on monkeypox in your district, please visit https://t.co/g9FLwpHy6v. pic.twitter.com/LfuTpUcQHV

— DC Health (@_DCHealth) August 17, 2022

The release of the data comes when authorities have identified more than 16,000 people who have been vaccinated against monkeypox. Most of them are white males from he’s 30 to he’s 64.

The agency is offering the vaccine to anyone who lives, works, or attends a college in the district and has had multiple sexual partners in the past two weeks.

WTOP has contacted DC Health for more information on the tracker.

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