The announcement will free up money and other resources to fight the virus, which can cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and pimple-like bumps on many parts of the body. “We are ready to take our response to the next level to address this virus and urge every American to take monkeypox seriously,” said Xavier Becerra, head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The HHS statement comes as the Biden administration has faced criticism over the availability of a monkeypox vaccine. Clinics in major cities such as New York and San Francisco say they have not received enough of the two-shot vaccine to meet demand, and some have had to stop offering the second dose to ensure the first doses are delivered. The White House said it has made more than 1.1 million doses available and helped boost domestic diagnostic capacity to 80,000 tests a week. Monkeypox virus is spread through prolonged skin-to-skin contact, including hugging, cuddling, and kissing, as well as sharing bedding, towels, and clothing. The people who have gotten sick so far have mostly been men who have sex with men. However, health officials stress that the virus can infect anyone. No one in the United States has died. Few deaths have been reported in other countries. Earlier this week, the Biden administration named top officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to serve as White House coordinators for the fight against monkeypox. Thursday’s statement is an important — and overdue — step, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University. “It signals the seriousness and purpose of the US government and sounds a global alarm,” he said. According to the statement, HHS can draw on emergency funds, hire or redeploy staff to respond to the outbreak and take other measures to control the virus. For example, the release should help the federal government seek more information from state and local health officials about who gets infected and who gets vaccinated. This information can be used to better understand how the epidemic is evolving and how well the vaccine is working. Gostin said the US government was being too cautious and should have declared a nationwide state of emergency sooner. Public health measures to control outbreaks have faced increasing legal challenges in recent years, but Gostin didn’t expect that to happen with monkeypox. “This is a public health emergency,” Gostin said. “It’s not a red or blue state issue. There is no political opposition to fighting monkeypox.” A public health emergency can be prolonged, similar to what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted. The urgency for the current response stems from the rapid spread of the virus combined with the limited availability of the two-dose vaccine called Jynneos, which is considered the main medical weapon against the disease. The doses, given 28 days apart, are currently given to people immediately after they are thought to have been exposed, as a measure to prevent symptoms. Becerra announced the emergency declaration during a call with reporters. During the call, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said regulators are reviewing an approach that would expand supplies by allowing healthcare professionals to vaccinate up to five people — instead of one — with each vial of Jynneos. Under this so-called “dose-saving” approach, doctors and others would use a shallower injection under the skin, rather than the subcutaneous injection currently recommended in the vaccine’s labeling. Califf said a decision approving that approach could come “within days.” That would require another declaration to allow the government to amend its guidelines on how to administer the vaccine, officials said. Health officials pointed to a study published in 2015 that found the Jynneos vaccine given this way was just as effective at boosting the immune system as when the needle is plunged deeper into other tissues. However, experts have also acknowledged that they are still gathering information on how well the conventional administration of one or two full doses works against the outbreak. Other health organizations have issued statements similar to the one issued by HHS. Last week, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency, with outbreaks in more than 70 countries. A global emergency is the WHO’s highest level of alert, but the designation does not necessarily mean that a disease is particularly contagious or deadly. California, Illinois and New York have made declarations in the past week, as have New York, San Francisco and San Diego County. Declaring a public health emergency and naming a monkeypox czar are “symbolic actions,” said Greg Gonsalves, an infectious disease expert at Yale University. What’s important is that the government takes the necessary steps to control the outbreak and — if it comes to that — have a plan for how to deal with monkeypox if it becomes endemic, he said. Monkey pox is endemic in areas of Africa where humans are infected by bites from rodents or small animals. It usually does not spread easily between people. But in May, a wave of unexpected cases began to appear in Europe and the United States. More than 26,000 cases have now been reported in countries that traditionally have not seen monkeypox.
Stobbe reported from New York. Associated Press Health writer Matthew Perrone contributed to this report.
