Will Monkeypox be the Next COVID-19? Lawmakers Demand Biden Administration To Reveal Its Plan on How To Handle New Outbreak

Congressional leaders have begun to press the Biden administration on the issue of monkeypox, wanting to know what its plan is for dealing with the outbreak as cases continue to climb and medicines remain out of reach for many of those afflicted.

Members of both parties in the House and Senate have pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra for answers on what his agency is doing to deal with the monkeypox outbreak, with some legislators criticizing what they see as a poor response.

Biden Administration Mulls Next Step Against Monkeypox

As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had verified over 2,600 cases. Because of the restricted testing capabilities for monkeypox, one of the problems raised by parliamentarians in recent weeks, these figures are very definitely an undercount.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, called the US response to the virus disturbing in a letter to Becerra last week, adding that the administration has all the tools it needs to battle the outbreak.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), both chairwomen of important congressional health panels, addressed letters to HHS Secretary Tom Price this week outlining their concerns. A group of 50 House Democrats also wrote to President Biden, pushing him to declare a public health emergency due to monkeypox, according to The Hill.

A chart of the monkeypox virus indicates that New York has the most recorded cases (830), followed by California (356). Only one incidence was documented in West Virginia, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

While the Biden administration considers its next move, health officials are determining how to provide Tpoxx, a smallpox antiviral drug developed by Siga Technologi's, to pediatric patients. Infections among persons who are not members of the LGBTQ community, according to Jennifer McQuiston, the CDC's assistant director of high consequence diseases and pathology, are not unusual.

The United States presently has 1.7 million doses accessible through the Strategic National Stockpile, but physicians have experienced difficulty distributing the medications to patients. The CDC said on Friday that they were attempting to streamline the procedure that healthcare professionals must go through to administer Tpoxx. Another vaccination under consideration by the government is Tembexa, an antiviral medication manufactured by Chimerix Inc.

According to research, Tembexa, which is known to have some dangerous side effects, has not been extensively examined in humans. The allocation of Bavarian Nordic A/Jynneos S's vaccine to states and jurisdictions has been a concern for the Biden administration due to a restricted supply of the doses.

To yet, 300,000 doses of Jynneos have been distributed, with additional injections likely to come soon. According to Wikipedia, the monkey virus is not related to chickenpox, but the symptoms are comparable to smallpox, albeit milder, Daily Mail reported.

US COVID-19 Response Coordinator Believes Monkypox "Can be Contained"

Monkeypox can be contained in the United States, with the objective of eventually eradicating the disease as tests and immunizations increase, according to the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator.

With almost 2,000 cases nationally, the US Department of Health and Human Services is considering declaring monkeypox a public health emergency, according to Ashish Jha. On Saturday, the World Health Organization's director-general labeled the global pandemic a public health emergency of international concern.

"Monkeypox can undoubtedly be contained," he claimed, citing tests and vaccinations. According to Jha, the United States can test 80,000 individuals every week and has 300,000 vaccinations on hand. According to Anthony Fauci, senior medical advisor to President Joe Biden, the United States should receive "an extra 750,000 doses" of vaccine by the end of the month.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, intervened when nine members of the expert committee voted against calling the monkeypox epidemic an emergency, while six voted in favor. Some have criticized Tedros and the World Health Organization for moving too slowly to raise the alarm about COVID-19.

Monkeypox continues to mostly afflict males who have sex with men and those who identify as homosexual or bisexual across the world. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Friday that two pediatric patients had been detected this week, increasing worries that the virus is spreading to other populations.

Fauci stated that the objective is to vaccinate people in areas where monkeypox is spreading, including those who have been exposed to the virus and those who are just more vulnerable, such as men who have sex with other males, as per Time.