Thursday, the Biden administration declared the current monkeypox outbreak to be a public health emergency in the United States.
The declaration allows access to emergency funds as well as opens up additional resources, and increases access to care without the typical barriers.
“I want to make an announcement today that I will be declaring a public health emergency,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a briefing Thursday.
“We’re prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and to take responsibility to help us tackle this virus,” he continued.
More than 6,600 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in 48 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico as of Thursday, according to the CDC.
Just last month, the World Health Organization announced that monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern.
