The United States is expanding its vaccination campaign once morest monkeypox. The US Department of Health announced yesterday that it would immediately release 56,000 doses of vaccine to areas with high transmission rates. That is more than five times as much as was previously distributed in the country. The US government also wants to secure 240,000 additional vaccine doses in the coming weeks. A total of 1.6 million vaccine doses should be available this year.
According to the CDC, the current monkeypox outbreak has reported 4,700 cases worldwide. There have been 306 cases in the US, none of which were fatal.
No global health emergency for now
A less dangerous cousin of smallpox, which was eradicated regarding 40 years ago, monkeypox is commonly found in West and Central Africa. Since May, however, monkeypox has also been spreading to other countries, especially in Western Europe. The typical symptoms of the disease include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and sheep sores. The disease is transmitted through close body and skin contact.
The World Health Organization (WHO) decided at the weekend not to declare an international health emergency because of monkeypox. According to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the monkeypox outbreak is not currently classified as a public health emergency of international concern – the highest alert level at the WHO.