Aug 4 (Reuters) – The United States has declared monkeypox a public health emergency, the health secretary said on Thursday, a move expected to free up additional funds and tools to fight the disease.
The U.S. toll topped 6,600 on Wednesday, almost all of the cases among men who have sex with men.
“We are ready to take our response to the next level to address this virus and urge all Americans to take monkeypox seriously,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at a briefing .
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The statement will improve the availability of data on monkeypox infections needed for the response, said US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, speaking 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 most cases in the world. Vaccines and treatments have been in short supply, and the disease is often left to historically underfunded sexual health clinics to manage them. Read more
The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern,” its highest alert level. The WHO statement last month was intended to trigger a coordinated international response and unlock funding to collaborate on vaccines and treatments. Read more
Governments are rolling out vaccines and treatments that were first approved for smallpox, but also work for smallpox.
The U.S. government has distributed 600,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic’s ( BAVA.CO ) Jynneos vaccine and deployed 14,000 of Siga Technologies’ ( SIGA.O ) TPOXX treatment, officials said, though they did not disclose how many ‘have administered
Walensky said the government aims to vaccinate more than 1.6 million high-risk people.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said the agency was considering releasing more Jynneos vaccine doses by allowing doctors to extract 5 doses of vaccine from each vial instead of the current dose using a different subcutaneous inoculation method.
US President Joe Biden this month appointed two federal officials to coordinate his administration’s response to monkeypox, following emergency declarations by California, Illinois and New York. Read more
First identified in monkeys in 1958, the disease has mild symptoms such as fever, aches and pus-filled skin lesions, and people tend to recover within two to four weeks, according to the WHO. It is spread through close physical contact and is rarely fatal.
Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, told Reuters on Thursday that it was critical to engage gay community leaders as part of efforts to curb the outbreak, but cautioned against stigmatizing the lifestyle.
“Community involvement has always proven to be successful,” Fauci said.
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Reporting by Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar in Bangalore, Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, Caroline Humer and Leela de Kretser Editing by Anil D’Silva, Deepa Babington and Howard Goller
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