The Biden administration declared the current outbreak of monkeypox a public-health emergency on Thursday, after three states had declared the disease an emergency.
“We are prepared to take our response to the next level,” Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said on a media call Thursday, according to ABC News. “And I ask each American to take monkeypox seriously.”
The declaration will last 90 days unless Becerra extends it, and will increase HHS’s ability to secure funds and personnel to deal with the disease.
The first case of monkeypox was confirmed in the U.S. on May 18, and the number of cases has since grown to 6,617 probable or confirmed cases, according to the CDC’s website.
California and Illinois both declared states of emergencies Monday in a bid to increase vaccination efforts. California currently has 826 cases and Illinois has 547, according to the CDC.
New York, which has 1,666 confirmed cases, declared a state of emergency Friday.
“More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond. It’s especially important to recognize the ways in which this outbreak is currently having a disproportionate impact on certain at-risk groups. That’s why my team and I are working around the clock to secure more vaccines, expand testing capacity and responsibly educate the public on how to stay safe during this outbreak,” Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement, announcing the declaration.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, respiratory symptoms, and a rash that may be located on or near the genitals, according to the CDC.
Monkeypox spreads through close or skin-to-skin contact, including bodily fluids and touching infected surfaces, and has disproportionately affected gay men.
The World Health Organization declared July 23 that the outbreak of monkeypox is a public-health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), defined as “an extraordinary event, which constitutes a public health risk to other States through international spread, and which potentially requires a coordinated international response.”
President Joe Biden announced a team to lead the monkeypox response Tuesday.
Biden appointed Robert Fenton as the White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis as the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator.
Fenton is currently a regional administrator for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Daskalakis is currently the director of the CDC Division of HIV Prevention.
“Fenton and Daskalakis will lead the Administration’s strategy and operations to combat the current monkeypox outbreak, including equitably increasing the availability of tests, vaccinations and treatments,” the White House said in a statement.