LOS ANGELES — With the number of confirmed cases of a disease once rarely recorded in the United States now rising into the thousands, lawmakers in California are calling for stronger action from the federal government in response to the monkeypox outbreak.
“The good news about monkeypox, if there is any at all, is that it is a familiar threat,” said California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) during a press conference at Out Here Sexual Health Center in Los Angeles, California. “We have tests and we have vaccines. Sadly, despite our two years’ experience with COVID, our response to monkeypox has been maddeningly slow.”
Rendon has written a letter to California’s former Attorney General, now U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra requesting he declare a public health emergency on monkeypox. He criticized what he described as a slow response, saying he wants a dramatic ramping up of vaccine supply and testing.
Rendon compared what he described as a slow response to the recent coronavirus pandemic with the latest response to the outbreak with monkeypox.
“If we declare a national public health emergency, it will help to ramp up vaccination and testing,” Rendon said. “It will support state and local efforts for public health outreach and education, to support testing and vaccine efforts in California jurisdictions.”
In late June, the White House said it would immediately send states 9,000 doses of vaccine and 300 courses of antiviral smallpox treatments when it unveiled its new plan to combat the monkeypox outbreak. The Biden-Harris administration said the plan will include ramping up vaccine and testing supplies.
“The United States is significantly expanding deployment of vaccines, allocating 296,000 doses over the coming weeks, 56,000 of which will be allocated immediately,” according to the White House. “Over the coming months, a combined 1.6 million additional doses will become available."
The administration commended the LGBTQI+ community for its rapid mobilization in promoting information and awareness about the virus.
This comes as world health officials have documented more than 14,500 cases in more than 70 nations, according to data from the WHO, European CDC, U.S. CDC and Ministries of Health. Just six of the 70 nations where new cases are being found have historically reported monkeypox, according to the U.S. CDC.
Since early May of 2022, the virus most known for causing a rash that can bring pimples or blisters, has been reported in mostly European countries where the disease is not endemic, according to the World Health Organization. The virus is spread through close and prolonged person to person contact.
While anyone is susceptible to the virus, new cases have predominately been found in men who have sex with men, including members of the gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
“During recent Pride month activities, thousands of those vaccine doses could have been administered at celebratory events, clinics, LGBTQ bars and gathering places throughout the state,” Rendon said. “That did not happen, and it enabled this spread.”
The disease has infected at-least 2,108 people in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. California has recorded 267 cases of monkeypox, accounting for more than 12.5% of all cases documented in the United States this year, according to CDC data.
The outbreak in the Golden State is the second largest in the U.S. only next to New York, which has documented 581 cases, according to the CDC. California’s case rates may be dramatically higher, as the California Department of Public Health reports it has documented 356 cases of probable and confirmed cases.
Sacramento County has recorded 22 cases of monkeypox, said Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye. All cases in Sacramento County have been mild, no one has been hospitalized or died from the virus, Dr. Kasirye said.
The county has so far received and distributed 1,000 doses of the vaccine. It’s unclear how many allocations may be provided in the future.
“We have either used those in our own clinics or redistributed them to some of our healthcare providers that we work very closely with,” Dr. Kasirye said.
Dr. Kasirye asks for those who may be waiting for an appointment to be patient, as the health office is scheduling appointments when vaccines are available.
While the risk to the general public remains very low, health officials continue to monitor the situation. Anyone who thinks they may have been exposed should contact their local public health office. If a person has lesions that could be suspected of being monkeypox, they are encouraged to contact their health provider to seek an evaluation.
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