The Biden administration is on the cusp of announcing a public health emergency for monkeypox, according to a report.
Sources told Politico that an announcement is expected within the next couple of days, a move that would follow the World Health Organization making a similar health alert as the disease spreads across the globe. This would also come after the United States declared a public health emergency for COVID-19 in early 2020.
Such a declaration, which would be made by the Department of Health and Human Services, would unlock funds and resources.
WHO DECLARES MONKEYPOX GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY AS OUTBREAK SPREADS WORLDWIDE
The White House declined to comment on the report. The Washington Examiner also reached out to HHS for comment.
Monkeypox can typically spread via skin-to-skin contact with symptoms such as headaches, fevers, swollen lymph nodes, and rashes, among others. There are already vaccines and antiviral medications developed to treat the infection, and governments around the world have been scrambling to ramp up production.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,639 confirmed monkeypox/orthopoxvirus cases as of Wednesday evening.
