A doctor gives a smallpox vaccine to a monkey on Saturday in London.
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Hollie Adams / Getty Images
A doctor gives a smallpox vaccine to a monkey on Saturday in London.
Hollie Adams / Getty Images
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.
“I have decided that the global outbreak of monkeypox represents a public health emergency of international concern.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said:.
The enactment of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern enhances coordination and sharing of resources and information between countries. The declaration was made even though the WHO’s Emergency Committee, which is considering whether to issue an emergency declaration, failed to reach a consensus.
Tedros said the outbreak was spreading rapidly and there was a “more obvious risk of international spread”.
Monkeypox outbreaks occur mainly in men who have sex with men and have multiple sexual partners. There are more than 16,000 cases globally and according to the Centers for Disease Control, 2,891 cases have been confirmed in the US
There is a monkeypox vaccine available, but that supply is scarce.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 191,000 doses So far has been assigned to the state and city health departments. HHS says the federal government will have nearly 7 million doses by mid-2023.
