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Currently, an emergency has been declared in California. The proclamation regarding the unprecedented spread of the Monkeypox virus, which was announced last week, was made by Governor Gavin Newsom. The state follows Illinois and New York City, the epidemic’s epicenter, as the third to declare a health emergency.
The declaration of a health emergency, in Newsom’s opinion, will help authorities scale up vaccination campaigns to quickly stop the disease. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization previously warned that there is a lack of Monkeypox vaccine due to the rising demand.
There is a surge in the number of people visiting clinics and healthcare providers to request vaccine doses, which has prompted a rush of activities in the facilities.
To assist with immunization efforts, the Emergency Medical Services of California has been called in. The governor reassured the public that increased testing, outreach, and contact tracing efforts are being made to stop, or at least slowdown, the virus’s spread.
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California became the third state to declare a state of emergency
Following Illinois, which announced the state of emergency last Monday, California became the third county to follow suit. The declaration was made by New York, which was the first to declare a health emergency, a week earlier.
In 48 U.S. states, including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, the CDC has already confirmed more than 6,000 cases of Monkeypox. Since the first case was discovered in Boston around three months ago, the virus has spread quicker than expected, according to health experts.
The three largest cities in the nation are located in the states that have just declared a state of emergency: California, Illinois, and New York. According to data, the cases reported in these three account for 47% of all instances of infections nationwide, with New York having more than 1,400 cases as of last Monday.
Although there are no deaths from Monkeypox, patients nonetheless experience discomfort from the lesions that the virus causes them to develop. Furthermore, if the virus is not quickly confined, health experts caution that it might stay in the nation permanently.
WHO declared Monkeypox as a global health emergency
Late last month, in response to the outbreak of Monkeypox, the World Health Organization declared a worldwide health emergency. More than 19,000 people are infected across 78 countries, according to data provided by the WHO.
Since the virus has spread widely in Europe and North America, where it is not endemic, experts and scientists from the agency have drawn attention to its distinctive characteristic. The virus spread very little, even in regions where it is endemic, such as West and Central Africa.
According to the CDC, 98% of all infections that have been documented come from guys who had sex with other men. This indicates that having intercourse is the main way that Monkeypox spreads. Gay and bisexual men are reported to be at a greater risk for the virus, according to public health officials.
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The information is not proof that a certain gender is only victimized by the virus, though. The CDC has clarified this misunderstanding several times. They assert that there are additional means of virus transmission, such as direct physical contact with a person who has tested positive or exposure to objects that a patient has physically touched.
Declaration of public health emergency still discussed by White House
The White House is still debating whether or not to declare a public health emergency, senior federal health officials disclosed. Vaccination efforts would be accelerated should a declaration be made.
It can be recalled that the U.S. last proclaimed a public health emergency in 2020 when Covid-19 first arrived in the country.
The Health and Human Services Department has sent over 330,000 doses of the Monkeypox vaccine, plus an additional 786,00, to the states to support their vaccination efforts.
As part of a contract with Bavarian Nordic, the government will import millions of vaccination shots, so there will be more doses to arrive.
Source: CNBC
