The United States has declared monkeypox a public health emergency, the health secretary said Thursday, a move expected to free additional funds and tools to fight the disease.
“We stand ready to advance our response to the next level in the fight against this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at a briefing.
The statement will improve the availability of monkeypox infection data needed for the response, Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a speech alongside Bacerra.
The US government has come under pressure for its handling of the outbreak.
The disease began to spread in Europe before moving to the United States, which now has the highest number of cases in the world, at more than 6,600. Vaccines and treatments were in short supply, and management of the disease was often left to the historically underfunded sexual health clinics.
The World Health Organization has also declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern,” its highest alert level. The WHO statement in late July should spark a coordinated international response and could free up funds for collaboration on vaccine and treatment sharing.
Governments are using vaccines and treatments that were first approved for smallpox but also work for monkeypox.
The US government has distributed 600,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine and deployed 14,000 of Siga Technologies’ TPOXX treatment, officials said, although they did not disclose how many were administered.
Walensky said the government is aiming to vaccinate more than 1.6 million high-risk individuals.
vaccination efforts
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf said the agency is considering releasing more Jynneos vaccine doses by allowing physicians to take five doses of the vaccine from each vial instead of the current one dose by they use another subcutaneous vaccination method.
Seattle, Washington resident Justin Moore drove across the border into British Columbia with several friends to get a monkeypox shot, something he says he couldn’t get at home. He described the Canadian experience as “uplifting”.
US President Joe Biden this month appointed two federal officials to coordinate his administration’s response to monkeypox after California, Illinois and New York declared emergencies.
The disease was first identified in monkeys in 1958 and has mild symptoms such as fever, pain and pus-filled skin lesions. People tend to recover from it within two to four weeks, says the WHO. It spreads through close physical contact and is rarely fatal.
The vast majority of cases in the US involve men who have sex with men.
However, it has long been recognized that anyone can contract monkeypox through various forms of close contact, including skin-to-skin contact such as touching or sex, respiratory droplets in a conversation, or even contaminated clothing or bedding.
Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, told Reuters on Thursday that engaging gay community leaders was crucial as part of efforts to contain the outbreak, but cautioned against stigmatizing the community.
“Community engagement has always proven successful,” Fauci said.
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