Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
San Francisco, New York Declare Monkeypox An Emergency
The Washington Post: Monkeypox Emergencies Declared In San Francisco, New York
The action by two of the hardest-hit areas comes after the World Health Organization declared a global emergency this past weekend and as the Biden administration weighs a national emergency declaration. More than 40 percent of the nation’s confirmed 4,907 monkeypox cases have been reported in California and New York. (Nirappil, 7/28)
AP: Under Fire, US Officials Say Monkeypox Can Still Be Stopped
The country’s monkeypox outbreak can still be stopped, U.S. health officials said Thursday, despite rising case numbers and so far limited vaccine supplies. The Biden administration’s top health official pushed back against criticism about the pace of the response and worries that the U.S. has missed the window to contain the virus, which has been declared a global emergency. (Perrone, 7/28)
CIDRAP: HHS Promises 1.1 Million Monkeypox Vaccines In Coming Weeks
Today during a press briefing from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Secretary Xavier Becerra, JD, said that in the coming weeks, 1.1 million doses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine will have been made available to Americans. "They will get into the hands of people who need them over the course of next several weeks," Becerra said. (Soucheray, 7/28)
The burgeoning outbreak has many Americans worried —
Axios: Monkeypox Virus: One In Five Fear Contracting The Infection As Cases Rise
About 20% of Americans are afraid they'll soon contract monkeypox, but there are still some significant holes in the public's understanding of the virus, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. (Bettelheim, 7/29)
On testing for the virus —
Reuters: U.S. Can Conduct 60,000-80,000 Monkeypox Tests Per Week, HHS Secretary Says
The United States has the capacity to conduct 60,000-80,000 tests for monkeypox virus per week, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said on Thursday. When the monkeypox outbreak began, the U.S. was able to conduct only 6,000 tests per week, Becerra told reporters during a telephone briefing. (7/28)
CNN: Testing Is Crucial To Getting Monkeypox Under Control, But There's A 'Shocking' Lack Of Demand
Mayo Clinic Laboratories, for example, has the capacity to process 1,000 monkeypox samples a week but has received only 45 specimens from doctors since starting monkeypox testing July 11. Another of the labs, Aegis Sciences Corp., can do 5,000 tests per week but has received zero samples over the past two weeks. At Labcorp, one of the largest commercial labs in the US, uptake has been higher but still "extremely low," according to Dr. Brian Caveney, the lab's president of diagnostics. (Cohen, 7/28)
In other news about monkeypox —
Stateline: Monkeypox Straining Already Overstretched Public Health System
Some public health authorities worry about the continued ability of an exhausted and perennially underfunded public health system to meet multiple threats at once. “Our staff is very professional and dedicated, and they are going to do what needs to be done,” said Patrick McGough, CEO of the health department in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County. “Right now, our capacity is good, but like anything, if it gets overwhelming, if we have two or three things going on at the same time, it could get dicey.” (Ollove, 7/28)
The Boston Globe: Officials Confirm 36 New Monkeypox Cases In Massachusetts
State health officials diagnosed 36 new cases of monkeypox in the past seven days, according to a Thursday statement by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The announcement brings the total number of cases detected in Massachusetts to 115. The cases were discovered in 36 adult men from July 21 to 27. Health officials said they were working to identify close contacts with the infected individuals. (Fonseca, 7/28)
Politico: Schumer: New York To Receive 110K Monkeypox Vaccine Doses
The federal government is sending New York 110,000 new monkeypox vaccine doses, the bulk of which will go to New York City — the largest U.S. hot spot for the virus, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday. Key context: New York City will receive 80,000 vaccine doses — more than 10 percent of 786,000 from Denmark that are now in the national stockpile, according to the New York Democrat’s office. The rest of the state will get 30,000 doses. (Young, 7/28)
AP: Africa's Alone In Monkeypox Deaths But Has No Vaccine Doses
Africa still does not have a single dose of the monkeypox vaccine even though it’s the only continent to have documented deaths from the disease that’s newly declared a global emergency, its public health agency announced Thursday. (Anna, 7/28)
