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WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (AP) — The federal government plans to end the public health emergency it declared earlier this year in January following an outbreak of mpox that infected more than 29,000 people across the United States.
Cases of Mpox have fallen sharply in recent weeks, with only a handful of new infections reported each week in November, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the worst summer of the epidemic, hundreds of people were infected every week.
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The virus is mainly transmitted among men who have sex with infected men.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement that the public health emergency is expected to end in January.
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“Given the low number of cases today, HHS does not anticipate that it will need to update the emergency declaration by the end of January 31, 2023,” Becerra said.
“But we will not let up – we will continue to closely monitor case trends and encourage free vaccinations for all at-risk groups.”
For months, the United States has struggled to contain the mpox outbreak. Testing has been difficult, and the government has botched the rollout of the vaccine, with weeks of delays in getting 800,000 doses to clinics in the hardest-hit major cities.
In August, the administration declared a public health emergency, and the White House appointed two top officials — Robert Fenton, who is leading FEMA’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts, and the CDC’s Dr. Demetre Daskalakis – leading the response to the virus outbreak.
Their tactics include contacting local clinics and vaccinating people at pride events or parades. Cases began to decline as two doses of the Jynneos vaccine became more readily available across the country.
17 people have died from the virus in the U.S. so far
Ending the mpox public health emergency would be something of a trial run by the Biden administration as it prepares to declare an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency, which is expected to last until at least January 11. The government has given no indication of when the coronavirus public health emergency will be declared over, but has pledged to give at least 60 days’ notice.
Last month, the World Health Organization renamed monkeypox mpox, citing concerns that the decades-old animal disease’s original name could be interpreted as discriminatory and racist. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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