California the Third US State to Declare Monkeypox Emergency

Published AUG 2 2022

Story

Image credit: AFP/Getty Images [via Newsweek]

The Facts

On Mon., Calif. joined Ill. and NY in declaring a state of emergency for the monkeypox outbreak. The CDC has confirmed at least 5,800 cases of the virus in the US.
Newsweek
Declaring a state of emergency enables states to suspend state and local laws to allow for temporary rules to better prepare for and manage the monkeypox outbreak. It also permits emergency workers to administer federally-approved vaccines.
Newsweek
Calif. Gov. Newsom said that his state is "working urgently across all levels of government to slow the spread of monkeypox, leveraging our robust testing, contract tracing, and community partnerships." He also pledged to work with the LGBTQ+ community to fight stigma.
nytimes
Calif. will use the emergency declaration to ramp up its health department's response to the outbreak and to allow for increased coordination between departments within the state. To date, Calif. has received 61K doses of vaccine and they've administered 25K of those doses.
NPR
Globally, the virus continues to spread. This week, the first 4 deaths from monkeypox outside of Africa were reported in Spain, Brazil, and India.
Democracy Now
The WHO has declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency, and has stated that most cases are among men who've had sex with men.
WHO

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The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

The CDC has dropped the ball on monkeypox. They failed to learn any lessons from the COVID pandemic and monkeypox could become a long-term fixture in the US. The agency's testing system discourages doctors from ordering tests, and contact tracing is currently nonexistent. How can the government "stop the spread" when basic mitigation measures are not in place?

NPR

Pro-establishment narrative

The US government has the tools to significantly decrease the spread of monkeypox both in the US and around the globe. The US federal health care system has drastically increased the number of vaccines and more are on the way. This public health concern is well on the way to being effectively managed by the CDC and partner agencies.