US declares Monkeypox public health emergency as cases cross 7k mark
DTMT Network
The United States on August 4, 2022, declared the Monkeypox outbreak as a Public Health Emergency to strengthen the response against the disease, as cases across the country passed the 7000 mark.
Data released by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that 7,101 cases have been confirmed in the country since the beginning of the year.
While announcing the ongoing outbreak of the Monkeypox virus in the United States as a Public Health Emergency, the US Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said during a briefing, “We are prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus, and we urge every American to take Monkeypox seriously and to take responsibility to help us tackle this virus.”
"The action will further strengthen and accelerate the Administration’s response in recognition of the continued rapid transmission of Monkeypox in the US and globally and signal the seriousness and urgency with which the Administration is responding," Becerra added.
“Ending the monkeypox outbreak is a critical priority for the Biden-Harris Administration," he reiterated.
The administration was under pressure from various quarters and has been criticised for failing to recognise the severity of the situation.
Though the announcement is not likely to ease the vaccine availability in short term, it is likely to accelerate the approval processes for new treatments and provide more flexibility to the federal agencies to respond to the outbreak.
In a statement earlier in the day, the HHS informed that it has increased the supply of vaccines and shipped more than 602,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to states and jurisdictions.
So far the agency has allocated 1.1 million doses to states and jurisdictions and is making more doses available.
The HHS further announced that it has accelerated the delivery of an additional 150,000 doses to arrive in the country next month and the doses which were supposed to arrive in the US in November will now arrive in September.
