Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
WHO Warns Monkeypox Is Now A Threat To Global Public Health
Axios: Monkeypox Outbreak "Poses A Real Risk" To Public Health, WHO Says
The monkeypox outbreak "poses a real risk" to public health, said the World Health Organization's European chief Wednesday. "The magnitude of this outbreak poses a real risk; the longer the virus circulates, the more it will extend its reach, and the stronger the disease’s foothold will get in non-endemic countries," said Dr. Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO regional director for Europe, in a statement. Kluge said governments, health officials and general society "need to act with urgency" in order to control the outbreak. (Scribner, 6/15)
AP: WHO To Share Vaccines To Stop Monkeypox Amid Inequity Fears
The World Health Organization said it’s creating a new vaccine-sharing mechanism to stop the outbreak of monkeypox in more than 30 countries beyond Africa. The move could result in the U.N. health agency distributing scarce vaccine doses to rich countries that can otherwise afford them. To some health experts, the initiative potentially misses the opportunity to control monkeypox virus in the African countries where it’s infected people for decades, serving as another example of the inequity in vaccine distribution seen during the coronavirus pandemic. (Cheng, 6/15)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Monkeypox Case Reported In Las Vegas Area
The U.S. outbreak of monkeypox has touched Clark County, with a presumptive positive case reported in a local man who recently traveled within the country, the Southern Nevada Health District said on Wednesday. The man, who is in his 20s, was not hospitalized and is isolating at home. The health district is coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to perform confirmatory testing of the case, which was detected through the presentation of lesions and testing by the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory. The district has not identified any additional cases through its investigation and contact tracing. (Hynes, 6/15)
The Boston Globe: Health Officials Identify Two New Cases Of Monkeypox In Mass., Bringing Total To Six
Two more men in Massachusetts have tested positive for the monkeypox virus, state health officials announced Wednesday, raising the total number to six cases identified in the state since the first one was reported in May amid an international outbreak. Testing on the two new cases was completed Tuesday at the State Public Health Laboratory in Jamaica Plain, the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will conduct further testing to confirm the cases, the statement said. Officials said the two new cases are not connected, and both men are isolating to prevent further spread of the virus as officials work to identify anyone who may have come in contact with the patients, the statement said. (Stoico, 6/15)
Fox News: Chicago Urges Monkeypox Caution At Gatherings As US Cases Top 70
Monkeypox and orthopoxvirus cases in the U.S. topped 70 on Wednesday, as officials in Illinois' city of Chicago warned residents to take caution regarding transmission. In a statement, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) said Monday that it continues to investigate reports of cases in residents and is asking people to take proper precautions when in spaces or situations were the virus could be spread through close or intimate contact. The state of Illinois has confirmed eight cases, seven of which are in Chicago. Some of the cases involve individuals who recently traveled from Europe. (Musto, 6/15)
