United States has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra made the announcement on Thursday, a move expected to free up additional funding and tools to fight the disease.
The World Health Organization has also declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern,” its highest alert level. The WHO declaration last month was designed to trigger a coordinated international response and could unlock funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments.
The American President, Joe Biden on Tuesday, appointed two top federal officials to coordinate his administration’s response to monkeypox, following declarations of emergencies by California, Illinois and New York.
The cases have crossed 6,600 in the United States, as of Wednesday and almost all of them are among men who have sex with men.
