The Biden administration has unveiled new steps to fight the spread of monkeypox in the United States, including making available an additional 1.8 million vaccine doses, the White House said in a press release on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2022) The Biden administration has unveiled new steps to fight the spread of monkeypox in the United States, including making available an additional 1.8 million vaccine doses, the White House said in a press release on Thursday.
"Today, the White House National Monkeypox Response team announced a series of actions the Biden-Harris administration is taking to further accelerate its response to the monkeypox (MPV) outbreak and mitigate the spread of the virus," the release said.
Starting on Monday, the US Health Department will be making an additional 1.8 million vaccine doses available as a result of accelerating Phase 4 of the National Vaccine Strategy to provide for rapid distribution of vaccines to individuals at high risk of contracting the virus, including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, the release said.
The Biden administration is also launching a pilot program to allocate additional vaccines to health departments in jurisdictions that are planning to host large events that attract gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in the coming weeks and months, the release said.
As part of the program, the administration is currently working with the North Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana health departments to prepare for large LGBTQI+ events there, including the Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade on August 20 and 21, the release added.
The United States leads the world with 13,517 monkeypox cases to date, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
