Monkeypox outbreak in U.S. is bigger than the CDC reports. Testing is 'abysmal'
NPR Online NewsJun 25, 2022
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.
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.
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?
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.
There's a 50% chance that there will be at least 29.7k monkeypox cases in the United States by August 31, 2022, according to the Metaculus prediction community.