The Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency on Thursday, hoping to speed up vaccine distribution and corral the virus so it does not become a permanent fixture in the U.S.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said he made the decision because the government wants to raise awareness and deploy new tools in the face of a rising case tally.
“I will be declaring a public health emergency on monkeypox,” Mr. Becerra said. “We are prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus.”
The World Health Organization recently named the spread of monkeypox in non-endemic countries a public health emergency of international concern.