Biden administration to give update on monkeypox outbreak

WASHINGTON (WLNE) — The Biden administration is expected to give an update on the monkeypox outbreak Thursday.

The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will discuss distribution plans for nearly 800,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Over the weekend, the World Health Organization declared that the monkeypox outbreak is a “public health emergency of international concern.”

U.S. officials already sent more than 310,000 doses of the two-shot JYNNEOS vaccine to state and local health departments, but major cities said they didn’t have enough shots to meet demand.

There were more than 4,600 reported monkeypox cases in the U.S. as of late Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The White House also said it plans to appoint a monkeypox coordinator, similar to how it was done with COVID.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.