U.S. declares monkeypox a public health emergency

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared monkeypox a public health emergency Thursday, amid criticism of a confused and delayed response to the disease reminiscent of its COVID efforts.

Around 6,617 cases of the smallpox-related virus have been recorded in the U.S. as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—a nearly 350% increase compared to three weeks ago. Every state except Montana and Wyoming have reported at least one case.

New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul last week declared a state of emergency because of the disease, has seen 1,666 reported cases, the most of any state, followed by California with 826 cases, and Illinois with 547 cases. Each of those states also declared a state of emergency this week.

Globally there had been just over 26,000 cases reported as of Wednesday, according to the CDC, with the vast majority in countries that have not historically seen monkeypox cases.

World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared an international public health emergency on July 23, despite the fact that an emergency committee convened on the matter twice failed to reach a consensus.

“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the international health regulations,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference announcing the decision.

In the nearly two weeks since, global reported cases have risen more than 60%.

U.S. health officials warned last month that the demand for monkeypox vaccine was greater than supply. The vaccine shortage is due, in part, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services failing to ask Jynneos manufacturer Bavarian Nordic early enough to convert bulk vaccine into distributable form, The New York Times reported, citing multiple administration officials.

Lawrence Gostin, a former adviser to the CDC who has advised the White House on its monkeypox response, told The Times that the U.S. response has been hampered by “the same kinds of bureaucratic delays and forgetfulness and dropping the ball that we did during the COVID pandemic.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.