The US lacked foresight in the face of monkeypox, says Dr. Huerta 1:40
(CNN) --
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Monday to bolster monkeypox vaccination efforts in California as the virus spreads across the country.
The declaration comes as more than 5,800 probable or confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported in the United States, including nearly 800 in California.
Monkeypox: who can be infected?
While the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, the Biden administration has not issued a national public health emergency declaration.
California is now the third state, after New York and Illinois, and the largest in the US to issue a state declaration related to the disease.
The declaration allows emergency medical services personnel throughout California to administer FDA-approved monkeypox vaccines, expanding the pool of people able to vaccinate residents against the virus even as vaccine shortages persist.
The emergency proclamation says that "expanding the pool of eligible vaccinators will substantially assist current efforts and support anticipated vaccination efforts by receiving additional doses from the federal government."
advertising
"California is working urgently at all levels of government to slow the spread of monkeypox, leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing, and community partnerships strengthened during the pandemic to ensure those most at risk are our focus." for vaccines, treatment and outreach," Newsom said in a news release.
What symptoms does monkeypox cause, how is it spread and what do we know about it?
Monkeypox is a virus related to smallpox that typically causes pimple-like or blister-like lesions as well as flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches, muscle aches, chills and respiratory symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. the US Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The virus can be spread to anyone through close contact, often skin-to-skin, according to the CDC.
It is also possible for people to get monkeypox from infected animals.
California has received more than 61,000 doses of vaccine so far and has distributed more than 25,000, according to the governor's news release.
Los Angeles County has received its own allocation of vaccines, and state officials said California will make additional allocations in the coming weeks.
Last week, San Francisco became the first major US city to declare a local health emergency due to monkeypox.
San Francisco enters health emergency 1:44
“We will continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about risk reduction, and support the LGBTQ community in fighting stigma,” said the California governor.
California has been using testing, contact tracing and vaccine infrastructure created for the Covid-19 pandemic to now respond to monkeypox outbreaks, Newsom's office said.
The CDC has made tecovirimat, a prescription antiviral drug, available for monkeypox patients who are at risk of severe illness, but access is limited in California.
The treatment can now be administered at more than 30 facilities and providers across the state, officials said.
California has also expanded its monkeypox testing capacity and can now process more than 1,000 tests per week, according to Newsom.
The first case of monkeypox in the state was reported on May 21 and involved someone who had traveled abroad.
Now, there are probable or confirmed cases of monkeypox in 27 different local health jurisdictions, including one case involving a young child.
In mid-July, the California health department requested an additional 600,000 to 800,000 doses of monkeypox vaccines to help expand eligibility to confirmed and probable exposures, as well as high-risk individuals.
The health department said it was "hopeful that the federal government will deliver additional vaccines to meet the state's request," in a news release Friday.
As of last week, the US Department of Health and Human Services had delivered more than 336,000 doses of Jynneos, an FDA-approved vaccine created for smallpox and monkeypox, from the strategic national stockpile.
Health authorities across the country have focused on education efforts to inform Americans about how monkeypox spreads.
Will monkeypox be a pandemic like covid-19?
0:51
Monkeypox is spread through close contact, according to the CDC, including "respiratory secretions" and by touching objects contaminated with monkeypox lesions or fluids.
Many of the cases in the latest outbreak appear to be related to sexual contact, but monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease.
A large number of cases in this outbreak have been in men who have sex with men, including gay and bisexual men, and public health officials are focusing their prevention efforts on this group.
The virus is not unique to this community, but the nature of its spread through close contact has had a disproportionate impact.
"Our team is also committed to reducing stigma among the LGBTQ community, who have been singled out and treated unfairly due to this outbreak. No individual or community is to blame for the spread of any virus. Monkeypox can affect anyone at any time. as it spreads through skin-to-skin contact, as well as by sharing items such as clothing, bedding and towels," California Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón said in a statement Friday.
Following California's emergency declaration, Equality California, a leading LGBT rights nonprofit, applauded the governor's initiative, noting in a statement that the virus "continues to disproportionately affect gay, bisexual, and queer men." here in California and across the country.
Earlier Monday, California State Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, and members of the LGBTQ caucus asked Newsom to issue $38.5 million in an emergency budget appropriation to support the local response to smallpox. bow.
CNN's Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.
CaliforniaMonkeypox