In the United States, the response to monkeypox outbreaks has been sluggish, with 700 cases confirmed two months after the outbreak was first detected, making it difficult for clinics across the country to meet the demand for effective vaccines. I am.
Some public health professionals and patients have said they need to do more and warn of repeated mistakes made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The monkeypox virus is less infectious than COVID-19 and has so far mainly affected one community of men having sex with men. But experts say the United States can learn lessons from the coronavirus pandemic and still help the country control monkeypox.
Linawen, a professor of health policy and management at George Washington University and a former Baltimore health commissioner, told Hill that she felt a sense of dejav.
“Probably the most important thing for me is the lack of testing. During COVID, I found that all the cases found were like canaries in a mine and are really just the tip of the iceberg.” Wen said. “That’s because there were few tests available. Why didn’t we learn our lessons?”
Last week, Labcorp, one of the largest clinical testing networks in the United States, announced that it would begin testing monkeypox using the tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The company will be able to perform about 10,000 tests daily.
In its announcement, Labcorp will contact healthcare providers to begin monkeypox testing and sample collection, which is a more tedious process compared to the COVID-19 test, especially for those who do not have regular healthcare providers. I recommended that.
Wen said the monkeypox test should not be a complicated process and noted that the test itself is fairly straightforward to carry out. The monkeypox test wipes the base of the characteristic lesions that form after infection.
As of Monday, more than 760 cases of monkeypox have been identified in approximately 40 states in the United States. This is arguably underestimated because you may not be aware that it is infected or has not yet been tested.
Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox is not a new virus, it does not spread easily and is transmitted primarily by close skin-to-skin contact. Currently affecting a relatively small number of people in the United States, supporters and scientists are concerned that this outbreak can spread out of control.
In a recent interview, epidemiologist Jay Varma, a senior health adviser to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, said he was concerned that monkeypox might settle in the United States.
“If we don’t really anticipate this, we’ll be further behind and it will be a permanent part of our sick landscape,” Balma said.
De Blasio himself urged the federal government to increase access to the monkeypox vaccine on Twitter on Monday.
The gay community in New York has been particularly hit by this outbreak. The State Department said in a tweet Tuesday that 111 people were positive in New York City as of last week. This increased from 55 a week ago.
In a letter sent to President Biden on Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) mentioned the unmet demand for monkeypox vaccine. Adams considers different vaccination schedules that allow the White House to allow a longer interval between two doses of the preferred smallpox vaccine Jynneos so that more people can be immunized immediately. I asked for it.
In a NBC News report released last week, several gay men who tested positive for monkeypox were frustrated in communicating with public health officials when they were tested and tried to share a close relationship. I elaborated on my experience. A man in New York said it took almost a week before he was tested and was able to get the names of possible contacts.
Clinics in major cities such as New York and Washington DC are quickly short of available vaccine doses.
New York did not issue a warning late last month before announcing its own vaccine push. On Monday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Health announced that an additional 1,250 doses would be available.
Health officials claim that monkeypox poses no threat to the general public and has low viral mortality.
Eric Toner, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Health and Security Center at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said this recent outbreak of monkeypox is very likely a sign of the “epidemic era” of the world’s arrival. Said.
“As people interact more and more with wildlife, whether they are in the wet markets for food or move to habitats for population growth, people are increasingly exposed to exotic pathogens. You’ll see, “Toner said.
Overall, Toner feels appropriate, taking into account the difficulties inherent in measures such as contact tracing and the rapid way the federal government has deployed vaccines and ordered more. Said that.
“I don’t think they’re late. I don’t think it’s true that they haven’t learned lessons from COVID-19,” he said.
Yet others say the response is not as streamlined as possible. One of the Biden administration’s executives, who speaks anonymously, admitted last week to the New York Times that the monkeypox test wasn’t as fast or convenient as it needed to be. Contribution factors included negotiations with the laboratory, augmentation of test equipment, and training of personnel, according to people familiar with the matter.
