A new public heath emergency

This week the White House declared monkeypox a public health emergency. Epidemiologists and public health experts have warned the U.S. is running out of time to contain the outbreak.

View this email online August 6, 2022 by Arielle Retting Our audiences have a lot of questions about the monkeypox outbreak, so we wanted to bring you a special update this week. Here's what we know right now. We hope it's helpful information for you and your loved ones. Getty Images A New Public Health Emergency This week the White House declared monkeypox a public health emergency.  There have been more than 7,000 cases detected in the U.S., but that is likely an undercount. The majority of cases in the U.S. are concentrated in the gay and queer community, primarily among men who have sex with men. But the CDC has also reported infections in a small number of cisgender women and at least two children. Declaring a public health emergency is an important step because it can trigger grant funding and open up more resources for various aspects of a federal response. It also allows the Department of Health and Human Services to enter into contracts for treatments and other necessary medical supplies and equipment, as well as support emergency hospital services, among other things. Public health emergencies last for 90 days but can be extended. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the declaration will provide resources and increase access to care. She also said it will expand the CDC's ability to share data. Many experts had been calling for a federal public health emergency, saying it would signal to the country that this is a serious outbreak. Epidemiologists and public health experts have warned the U.S. is running out of time to contain the outbreak. "We're losing daylight," UCLA epidemiologist Anne Rimoin, who has studied monkeypox for decades, told NPR last month. "Every day that we aren't continuing to push forward on all fronts, the less likely it is that we will be able to contain it." NPR’s Goats & Soda also noted that the name “monkeypox” isn’t going away soon, despite critics saying it plays into racist stereotypes about Black people, Africa and LGBTQ people — and, they note, it falsely suggests monkeys are the main source of the virus. Newsletter continues after sponsor message How to protect yourself and what to watch out for Getty Images Signs and symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of smallpox: fever, headaches, muscle aches and a lack of energy. A rash can also be present, resembling pimples and pus-filled blisters, the CDC says. It can develop all over the human body, including face, feet, hands, genitals and inside the mouth. It's important to note that doctors are seeing a subtler rash in some patients. Some individuals developed only a single lesion that could be mistaken for a symptom of sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes or syphilis, NPR has reported. In the current outbreak, the vast majority of people appear to be catching the virus from sexual contact. Scientists are also looking at evidence that suggests the virus can be spread through semen.  However, it's possible for the virus to spread in other ways — including through face-to-face interactions with someone or from touching a contaminated surface — but data show this is exceptionally rare and occurs primarily in households. “It is possible for the virus to transmit nonsexually, so through face-to-face interactions with someone or by touching a contaminated surface. But data show this is exceptionally rare,” says NPR science correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff. “The virus is really bad at spreading this way. So it takes prolonged interaction or a lot of the virus. And so the risk is very, very low.” There’s also a vaccine available, though it can be hard to find. The Biden administration says it has made more than one million doses of the vaccine available to states and territories to order. Stay up-to-date on the spread of the virus in your area. Check the CDC map, which tracks monkeypox cases by state, as well as state and local health department alerts. For more information, check NPR’s explainer on monkeypox. How local governments are responding Governors in California, New York and Illinois have already declared a state of emergency in response to the monkeypox outbreak. Some cities, including New York City and San Francisco, have also made their own emergency declarations. The World Health Organization had already declared the monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Hampered by a sluggish federal response that failed to secure testing and vaccines in the early days of the outbreak, Colleen Grablick of WAMU says local officials in Washington, D.C., are trying to contain the virus by targeting limited vaccine supplies to those they've deemed most at-risk. Officials are attempting to thread a fine line between ensuring resources and messaging are directed to the most at-risk community while combating the misinformation and stigma that suggests only gay men can get monkeypox. Before the emergency declaration, Emma Silvers of KQED in San Francisco reports some LGBTQ+ leaders say the federal government’s response has begun to feel painfully reminiscent of the AIDS epidemic that emerged in the early 1980s. Send your stories, insights and photos to thenewnormal@npr.org. You could be featured in an upcoming edition of The New Normal newsletter! Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from Vermont Public (edit station). 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