The Politico newspaper reported, citing informed sources, that the administration of US President Joe Biden will declare monkeypox a public health emergency in the coming days.
According to these sources, this is expected to be announced later this week. But despite this, according to the publication, a final decision on this matter has not yet been made, and a representative of the US Department of Health said that the ministry “continues to explore various options.”
It was previously reported that White House and U.S. Department of Health officials discussed next steps to combat the virus over the weekend after the World Health Organization on Saturday declared monkeypox an international public health emergency.
It was pointed out that some U.S. officials believe the declaration of a state of emergency is necessary as it could give the government the power to bypass bureaucratic red tape and allow data to be collected on the spread of the virus. Others say the move is largely symbolic and will not solve vaccine shortages and difficult treatment.
On July 14, the World Health Organization reported that the total number of confirmed cases of monkeypox had surpassed 10,000 in more than 60 countries.
And the Politico newspaper confirms that there are currently about 3,600 cases of monkeypox in the United States. New York remains the epicenter of this disease.
Source: Interfax