The Biden administration is declaring a public health emergency over the monkeypox outbreak in the United States, which now has more infections from the virus than any other country in the world. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the decision at a briefing with senior public health officials on Thursday.
“This public health emergency will allow us to explore additional strategies to more quickly deliver vaccines and treatments to affected communities.” And it will allow us to get more data from jurisdictions so we can effectively track and attack this outbreak,” Robert Fenton, the White House’s newly appointed national coordinator for the monkeypox response, said at the briefing.
Over the past decade, national emergency declarations like this have previously only been made for the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, and the 2017 Zika virus outbreak.
As with COVID-19, the official said Becerra’s decision to declare a state of emergency could unlock a wide range of flexibility in funding and regulations in response to the monkeypox outbreak.
The public health emergency declaration could pave the way for the CDC to deploy more staff to respond to the outbreak, officials said, as well as force hospitals to share more data to track monkeypox patients. It could also help clear the way for resources to increase vaccinations.
As of last week, the administration says it has distributed an additional 266,000 doses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine to states and territories that have ordered doses. Another 150,000 doses originally scheduled for delivery by vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic in October have been moved to September.
Federal health officials also told reporters they are considering a separate action that would allow the Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency use authorizations that could ease access to treatments and vaccines for the monkeypox outbreak.
One such authorization, first floated by a National Institutes of Health official earlier this week at a meeting with the World Health Organization, could allow vaccinators to double their supply by injecting smaller “intradermal” doses into the skin instead of “subcutaneous” method currently approved for Jynneos.
“We feel very good about the intradermal approach and probably in the next few days, a short period of time, we will make a final decision on it,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said.
Federal health authorities also have on hand millions of doses of long-expired Jynneos, stockpiled years ago, which are now being tested by Bavarian Nordic. If they are found to be viable — which a spokesperson acknowledged to CBS News earlier this month is “highly unlikely” — the doses could be authorized for emergency use.
Officials have said for weeks they were considering the move as the number of cases surged and demand for vaccines far outstripped supply nationwide.
The move comes as more jurisdictions, including several states and cities as well as the World Health Organization, have all deemed the outbreak an emergency.
Dr. David Agus answers questions about monkeypox and COVID-19 04:10
This week, President Biden also tapped officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the CDC to lead the country’s response to monkeypox from the White House.
On Wednesday, the CDC said it had reported at least 6,617 infections nationwide. All but two states — Montana and Wyoming — reported at least one infection.
“We really expect cases to continue to rise as we had more access to testing, people had more access to testing before they went down again,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
The majority of infections are still believed to be spread through close intimate contact between men who have sex with men. Although no deaths have been reported, patients often suffer excruciatingly painful rashes and lesions that can last for weeks.
The CDC currently estimates that between 1.6 and 1.7 million Americans are in the groups currently prioritized for a vaccine: people living with HIV, who are men, who have sex with men, and others who are at high risk of HIV.
Doctors have also responded to a handful of infections in other groups that are at higher risk of severe disease, such as pregnant women and young children.
Besides freeing up additional leverage in the federal bureaucracy to respond to the outbreak, officials said they hoped the declaration would raise awareness of the growing epidemic.
“This is a very clear statement about the value of the lives of people who are in the LGBT community,” said Dr. Demeter Daskalakis, the White House’s deputy coordinator for the monkeypox response.
Only about 10% of the national monkeypox testing capacity is currently being used, making about 8,000 monkeypox swabs per week. Officials say they expect the number of people with suspected monkeypox symptoms seeking diagnoses, as well as doctors moving to test for the disease, to rise after the declaration.
“I think along with moving forward and accelerating some of the work that we’re doing, I think it represents an important commitment from the administration to the community,” Daskalakis said.
More Alexander Tin
CBS News reporter covering public health and the pandemic.
Add Comment