New York City officials on Saturday declared monkeypox a public health emergency, saying the city is the epicenter of the state’s outbreak and that the move will increase measures to help slow the spread of the disease
“We estimate that approximately 150,000 New Yorkers may currently be at risk of exposure to monkeypox,” Mayor Eric Adams and Dr. Ashwin Vasan, commissioner of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said in a joint statement . “This outbreak must be met with urgency, action and resources, both nationally and globally, and this public health emergency declaration reflects the gravity of the moment.”
The declaration takes effect immediately, according to the statement.
It comes just one day after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order declaring a state disaster emergency, saying “more than one in four cases of monkeypox in this country” are in the state Among other actions, the governor’s order expands the number of people eligible to administer monkeypox vaccines, requires providers to submit vaccine data to the state health department, and will boost ongoing response efforts, including efforts to obtain more vaccines and expand testing capacity, the governor’s office. said
What you need to know about monkey pox
Other leaders in the United States, and around the world, have been sounding the alarm about monkeypox as the number of infections continues to rise and vaccine supply falls short of demand. Experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have stressed that the smallpox outbreak must be taken seriously and dealt with more rigorously, while federal officials continue to weigh a nationwide public health emergency declaration. country
San Francisco on Thursday became the first major U.S. city to declare a local health emergency in an effort to bolster its preparedness and response amid “rapidly rising cases” and high demand for the vaccine, the city said . The declaration will take effect on Monday.
“We know this virus affects everyone equally, but we also know that those in our LGBTQ community are at greater risk right now,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “Many people in our LGBTQ community are scared and frustrated. This local emergency will allow us to continue to support our most at-risk, while better preparing for what’s to come.”
In Washington, the federal government continues to monitor the response to monkeypox and will use it to consider whether to declare the outbreak a public health emergency, US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Thursday.
“We will defer any decision about declaring a public health emergency based on the responses we’re seeing across the country. The bottom line is that we have to move forward and be able to end this outbreak,” he said.
Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned earlier this month that it may be too late to contain the outbreak, telling CBS: “The window for controlling it and containing it has probably closed.”
Last weekend, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after convening its second emergency committee on the issue.
WHO defines a public health emergency of international concern as “an extraordinary event” that constitutes a “public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease” and “that may require a response coordinated international”.