The Biden administration on Thursday declared the monkeypox outbreak in the US a public health emergency amid rising cases of monkeypox infection. The country’s top health official has confirmed this. Cases of monkeypox infection are being reported in the world as well as in Europe. The US health minister said the move is expected to allow additional funding and equipment to fight the disease.
In America, The number of cases of monkeypox in America crossed 6,600 on Wednesday, after which the Biden administration took this decision. Almost all of those infected are men who have sex with men. US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a briefing, “We are ready to take our responsibility to this virus to the next level, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously.” urge.”
Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking with Health Secretary Becerra, said that “declaring a public health emergency will also help improve the availability of monkeypox data.” Biden earlier this month hired two top federal officials to coordinate his administration’s response to monkeypox after California, Illinois, and New York declared states of emergency.
Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Thursday that it is important to involve gay community leaders in efforts to contain the monkeypox outbreak, but cautioned against stigmatizing the lifestyle. He added that “gay community commitment has always proven successful.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, there was no vaccine for it, but there are already vaccines and treatments available for monkeypox. It was first produced in Africa in the 1970s. The US government had distributed 1,56,000 monkeypox vaccine doses nationwide by mid-July. Also, the US ordered an additional 2.5 million doses of the Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO) vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also declared monkeypox a global health emergency on 23 July. The WHO’s announcement last month was designed to launch a coordinated international response and to raise funds to support vaccines and treatments. The disease has been around for decades in parts of Central and West Africa, but it was not as widespread outside.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO chief said, “A month ago I convened an emergency committee under international health regulations to assess whether the multi-country monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern. Different views were expressed at that meeting. The Committee unanimously held that the outbreak does not represent a public health emergency of international concern. At that time, 3040 cases of monkeypox were reported from 47 countries. Since then its outbreak has been increasing continuously.
According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox disease was first identified in monkeys in 1958. The disease has mild symptoms of fever, pain, and pus-filled skin lesions, and people recover within two to four weeks. It is spread by close physical contact and can rarely be fatal.