Administration Declares Monkeypox Outbreak a Public Health Emergency

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Biden Administration Thursday declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.  More than 6,600 cases have been detected in the United States. Cases have been identified in every state except Montana and Wyoming since mid May.

According to reports, the majority of cases in the US outbreak have been among men who have sex with men, including gay and bisexual men and people who identify as transgender. Close contact with an infected individual is required for the spread of the monkeypox virus, experts say.

The Biden administration has been heavily criticized by some public health experts for not moving faster to address the crisis.

The declaration follows the World Health Organization announcement last month that monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern.

HHS waited more than three weeks after the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the US to order bulk stocks of the monkeypox vaccine, which the government owns and stores in Denmark, be bottled and sent to the US for distribution.