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At the moment, California is in a state of emergency. Gavin Newsom, the governor, made the announcement citing the unprecedented outbreak of the Monkeypox virus last week. Following Illinois and New York City, the epidemic’s epicenter, the state became the third to declare an emergency.
Newsom claims that by declaring a health emergency, authorities will be able to step up their immunization efforts and quickly stop the outbreak. The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously warned that there is a shortage of Monkeypox vaccine due to the rising demand.
Due to an increase in the number of people visiting their facilities to request vaccine doses, several clinics and healthcare organizations are crying for help.
California’s Emergency Medical Services have been sent out to assist with vaccination efforts. The governor reassured the populace that increased testing, outreach efforts, and contact tracing are being made in an effort to stop, or at least slowdown, the spread of the virus.
California is the third state to declare
Following Illinois, which proclaimed a state of emergency last Monday, California became the third region to do so. A week before Illinois’ declaration, New York, the first to announce, made its announcement.
More than 6,000 cases of Monkeypox have already been confirmed by the CDC in 48 U.S. states, including Washington, D.C. likewise Puerto Rico. The first case was discovered in Boston around three months ago; the virus spread more quickly than health experts had anticipated.
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The nation’s three largest cities are located in California, Illinois, and New York, the regions that have just declared a state of emergency. Data show that the cases reported in these three regions make up 47% of all cases nationwide, with New York registering more than 1,400 cases as of last Monday, making it the center of the epidemic.
Monkeypox has no fatalities, yet patients nevertheless experience pain from the lesions the virus causes them to form. Health professionals also caution that if the virus is not quickly suppressed, it may remain in the nation for a very long time.
Monkeypox is now a global health emergency
In response to the outbreak of Monkeypox, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency late last month. According to WHO data, there are more than 19,000 infected people in 78 different countries.
The agency’s experts and scientists remarked on the unusualness of the virus, given that it has spread widely in regions like Europe and North America, where it is not endemic. The virus barely propagated at all, even in regions of West and Central Africa where it is endemic.
According to the CDC, men who had intercourse with other men account for 98% of all transmissions that have been documented. This indicates that having sex is the main method of transmission for Monkeypox. According to public health professionals, gay and bisexual males are at a significant risk of contracting the virus.
However, the data does not imply that the virus is only found in one gender. The CDC has repeatedly corrected the error. According to them, other ways for the virus to spread include physical contact with someone who tested positive for the virus or contact with materials that a patient physically touched.
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The U.S. in deliberation for possible health emergency declaration
According to senior federal health authorities, the White House is still debating whether or not to declare a public health emergency. In the event of a declaration, immunization efforts would be accelerated.
It can be recalled that in 2020 when Covid-19 first reached the U.S., the country proclaimed a public health emergency.
The Health and Human Services Department has provided states with about 330,000 doses of the Monkeypox vaccine in addition to another 786,00 doses in an effort to support their vaccination campaigns.
The government has an agreement with Bavarian Nordic to import millions of vaccination shots, so there will be more to come.
