The United States is on the brink of declaring the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, US media outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post report. Health Minister Xavier Becerra will confirm this later Thursday.
The administration of President Joe Biden hopes this will raise awareness about the virus and free up additional funding to fight its spread. The states of New York, California and Illinois have already made similar decisions. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkey pox a public health emergency on July 23, following outbreaks in about 70 countries where the virus had not previously spread.
The US is struggling with a limited supply of Jyennos, the only monkey pox vaccine that drug watchdog FDA has approved. The group at the highest risk of the disease, according to the government, is about 1.6 million people, while the country only has Jyennos doses to protect about 550,000 people.
Vaccines
By mid-July, the US government had distributed 156,000 vaccine doses against monkeypox across the country. The US has ordered another 2.5 million doses of the Jyennos vaccine, made by Denmark-based pharmaceutical company Bavarian.
More than 6,600 cases of monkey pox have been confirmed in the US since May 18, with the vast majority occurring in men who have sex with men. Also, at least five cases of monkeypox in children have been reported.
Monkeypox can lead to fever, swollen lymph nodes, skin rashes, and often painful tissue damage that can result in scarring. The virus is also associated with more serious complications in children, pregnant women and people with immune disorders.