Experts lined up in belated US response to monkeypox

WASHINGTON－United States President Joe Biden was set to name top officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to serve as the White House coordinators to combat the growing monkeypox outbreak.

The White House said Biden was scheduled to announce on Tuesday that he has tapped Robert Fenton, who helped lead FEMA's mass COVID-19 vaccination efforts, as the White House coordinator. Demetre Daskalakis from the CDC will be named his deputy. Daskalakis, director of the agency's HIV prevention division and a national expert on issues affecting the LGBTQ community, previously helped lead New York City's COVID-19 response.

The White House said the pair would coordinate "strategy and operations to combat the current monkeypox outbreak, including equitably increasing the availability of tests, vaccinations and treatments".

Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert and Biden's top science adviser, praised their appointments on Monday night and said he hoped they would tighten the coordination among the various federal agencies involved in the country's monkeypox response.

The monkeypox virus spreads through prolonged and close skin-to-skin contact, including hugging, cuddling and kissing, as well as sharing bedding, towels and clothing. People getting sick so far have been primarily men who have sex with men. But health officials emphasize that the virus can infect anyone.

The US saw its first case of monkeypox confirmed on May 18 and now has over 3,000 confirmed infections.

Scientists said unlike campaigns to stop COVID-19, mass vaccinations against monkeypox will not be necessary. They think targeted use of the available doses, along with other measures, could shut down the expanding epidemic that was recently designated by the World Health Organization as a global health emergency.

Still, the Biden administration has faced criticism over vaccine availability for monkeypox. Clinics in major cities like New York and San Francisco said they have not received enough of the two-shot vaccine to meet demand and some have had to stop offering the second dose of the vaccine to ensure supply of first doses. The White House said it has made more than 1.1 million vaccine doses available and has helped to boost domestic diagnostic capacity to 80,000 tests per week.

California on Monday became the second state in three days to declare a public health emergency over monkeypox, following action this weekend by New York.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the declaration will help California coordinate a government-wide response, seek more vaccines and lead outreach and education efforts on where people can get treatment and vaccination.

"We'll continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization," Newsom said in a statement announcing his declaration.

Nearly 800 monkeypox cases have been reported in California, state public health officials said.

Agencies via Xinhua