WASHINGTON – The United States leads the world in monkeypox cases at more than 13,000, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So, as the nation faces an uptick in monkeypox cases, the Biden administration is ramping up vaccines to combat the current outbreak.
On Thursday, the administration said it will boost its supply of monkeypox vaccine by making available an extra 1.8 million doses. FDOH expects more to arrive in Florida as early as Monday.
According to Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator, “all the strategies to really increase supply so that we get more vaccines into arms.”
The FDOH also reports that there are 308 confirmed cases in Broward County and 321 in Miami-Dade County.
It comes just in time for LGBTQ Pride events in several states and there are plans to make the vaccine available onsite to help the communities hardest hit by the virus.
“Monkeypox is nowhere near as transmissible as COVID so again thinking about COVID as a virus and it’s transmitted through respiratory root – this one requires direct physical contact,” said Daskalakis.
According to the FDH, symptoms can take up to two weeks to show after infection ranging from fever headache, fatigue and painful rashes.