California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) talks with reporters after a meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in the US Capitol, on Friday, July 15, 2022.
Tom-Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak on Monday, the third US state to do so in a matter of days.
Newsom said the emergency declaration would help support the state’s vaccination efforts. Demand for the vaccines has outstripped supply as infections rise. Staff at sexual health clinics and other sites have struggled to keep up with the influx of people seeking the shots.
California is mobilizing personnel from its Emergency Medical Services to help administer the monkeypox vaccines. Newsom said the state is working across all levels of government to slow the spread through testing, contract tracing and community outreach.
California’s declaration comes after Illinois declared a public health emergency earlier Monday. New York declared a state disaster emergency in response to the outbreak late Friday.
The US has reported nearly 6,000 cases of monkeypox across 48 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak has spread swiftly since health authorities in Boston confirmed the first US case in May.
California, Illinois and New York – home to the nation’s three largest cities – have reported 47% of all confirmed monkeypox infections in the US New York is the epicenter of the outbreak in the US, with nearly 1,400 confirmed cases as of Monday.
The Biden administration is weighing whether to declare a public health emergency in the US, according to senior federal health officials. This would help mobilize resources for state health officials that are battling the outbreak. The last time the US declared a public health emergency was in response to Covid-19 in January 2020.
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