“We are ready to take our response to the next level in the fight against this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and take responsibility to help us deal with this virus,” said the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Xavier Becerra in conversation. .
FILE: Man with monkeypox blister. Photo: © halfpoint/123rf.com
WASHINGTON — The United States on Thursday declared monkeypox a public health emergency, which should free up new funds, help with data collection and allow additional personnel to be sent to fight the disease.
“We are ready to take our response to the next level in the fight against this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and take responsibility to help us deal with this virus,” said the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Xavier Becerra in conversation. .
The declaration, which is initially in effect for 90 days but could be extended, came as nationwide cases topped 6,600 on Thursday, about a quarter of them in New York state.
Experts believe the true number could be much higher in the current outbreak, as symptoms can be mild, including isolated lesions.
The U.S. has so far delivered about 600,000 JYNNEOS vaccines — originally designed against the monkeypox virus — but that number still falls far short of the roughly 1.6 million people who are considered the highest-risk groups and most in need of the vaccine.
About 99 percent of cases in the U.S. so far have been among men who have sex with men, the Department of Health and Human Services said last week, and that’s the population authorities are targeting in the national vaccination strategy.
Unlike previous outbreaks in Africa, the virus is now primarily spread through sexual intercourse, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says other routes are possible, including sharing bedding, clothing and prolonged personal contact.
The US declaration comes after the World Health Organization last month declared the outbreak an emergency – something it reserves for diseases of greatest concern.
Also Thursday, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said his agency is considering a move that would allow clinicians to administer five doses of the vaccine based on one dose of existing vials.
Currently, the vaccine is administered subcutaneously, but the new approach involves injecting it intradermally, at a shallower angle.
It “basically means sticking a needle in the skin and creating a little pocket there that the vaccine goes into, so there’s nothing really unusual about that,” Califf said.
