WHO: Monkeypox To Get New, Destigmatizing Name
News outlets report the World Health Organization is convening its emergency committee next week to decide if monkeypox is a globally-concerning public health issue. It will also rename monkeypox to minimize stigma and racism. The WHO is also reportedly discouraging mass vaccination.
Bloomberg:
WHO Will Rename Monkeypox Virus to Minimize Stigma, Racism
The World Health Organization will officially rename monkeypox, in light of concerns about stigma and racism surrounding the virus that has infected over 1,600 people in more than two dozen countries. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director general, announced Tuesday morning that the organization is “working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades and the disease it causes.” He said the WHO will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible. (Muller, 6/13)
Politico:
Is Monkeypox A World Health Emergency? The WHO Will Decide Next Week
The World Health Organization is convening its emergency committee next week to decide whether the monkeypox outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern — the world’s highest health alert. The meeting should help international coordination on the response now that monkeypox has spread to at least 39 countries, which have in total reported more than 1,600 confirmed cases and an additional 1,500 suspected cases to the WHO. (Paun and Payne, 6/14)
On monkeypox vaccines —
CIDRAP:
WHO Discourages Mass Vaccination For Monkeypox Outbreak
With more than 3,100 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox in 32 non-endemic and 7 endemic countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) today said it does not recommend mass vaccination campaigns at this time to limit the outbreaks, and instead emphasized contact tracing and isolation to limit the further spread of the poxvirus. In new interim guidance on vaccine use against monkeypox, the WHO said contacts of cases should be offered post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with a vaccine within four days of first exposure to prevent onset of disease. (Soucheray, 6/14)
The Atlantic:
Monkeypox Vaccines Are Too Gnarly For The Masses
In the past three years, the world has weathered two very different global outbreaks, caused by two very different pathogens, under two sets of very different circumstances. Unlike with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with monkeypox, we’re entering an epidemic with highly effective vaccines—formulated to guard against smallpox—already in hand. Also unlike with SARS-CoV-2, with monkeypox, the shots stockpiled in U.S. stores are based on some pretty grody tech. Nearly all of the 100 million available smallpox vaccines are ACAM2000, an inoculation that, per FDA documentation, gets punctured “rapidly” into the arm via 15 jabs of a bifurcated, escargot-fork-esque needle, in a fashion “vigorous enough” to draw blood. In the weeks following, a gnarly, pus-laden lump blossoms, then scabs and falls away. “It’s oozy; it’s nasty; it definitely doesn’t feel good,” says Kelsey Cone, a virologist at ARUP Laboratories, in Utah, who received the vaccine about 12 years ago. (Wu, 6/14)
Monkeypox continues to spread —
The Boston Globe:
4th Mass. Man Tests Positive For Monkeypox Virus
A fourth Massachusetts man has tested positive for the monkeypox virus, officials said Tuesday, two days after two other infections were reported and nearly a month after the state’s first case of the virus was announced amid an international outbreak. The man’s initial testing was completed Monday at the State Public Health Laboratory in Jamaica Plain, and further testing to confirm the infection will be conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a statement from the Department of Public Health. (Fox, 6/14)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia Health Officials Confirm Second Monkeypox Case In The State
As the cases of monkeypox continue to rise globally, the Georgia Department of Public Health on Tuesday confirmed a second case of the infectious disease in Georgia. ... Earlier this month, DPH announced the first-ever case in the state — a man who lives in metro Atlanta with a history of international travel. He was ordered into isolation where public health officials are monitoring his symptoms, according to DPH. The agency also traced his recent contacts. The second case is man who also lives in metro Atlanta and has traveled internationally. DPH said the two cases are not related. DPH is also doing contact tracing at this time and this person is also in isolation. DPH is not aware of any other suspected cases at this time. (Oliviero, 6/14)
