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According to reports, the Biden administration could declare monkeypox a public health emergency in the coming days.
Sources familiar with the matter told Politico that the statement could come as soon as later this week. This statement would be made by Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Secretary Xavier Becerra.
People wait to receive the Monkeypox vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Manhattan. (Photo by Liao Pan/China News Service via Getty Images)
Declaring an emergency would give HHS access to additional funds and increase its staff to address the matter. Becerra is expected to hold a press conference on monkey pox Thursday morning.
Fox News has reached out to HHS and the White House for comment, but did not hear back before publication.
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The report comes days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the international outbreak of the monkeypox virus a global health emergency.
US officials have sounded the alarm about monkey pox. Health departments in San Francisco and other major cities say they still don’t have enough shots of the vaccine to meet demand.
California Rep. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, issued a statement urging Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.
“Unfortunately, because our federal government did not act quickly to acquire the vaccine supplies needed to prevent an outbreak, we are now in a public health emergency that will only get worse,” Weiner said. “Given that gay and bi men and trans people are the most affected, it is sadly becoming clear that we are being left behind once again.”
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The monkeypox virus is spread primarily through skin-to-skin contact, but it can also be spread through contact with bed linens used by someone with the infection. The vast majority of reported cases have been in men who have sex with men, although health officials have stressed that anyone can catch the virus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.