White House expected to name monkeypox coordinator
By Kaitlan Collins and Maegan Vazquez, CNN
Updated 5:52 PM EDT, Mon July 25, 2022
The White House is working on naming a monkeypox coordinator as they prepare for the possibility of more cases emerging within the United States.
Two sources familiar with the internal discussions told CNN that Biden officials are working on naming a coordinator, but they have not yet settled on an individual to help coordinate the federal government’s response to the outbreak.
The Washington Post first reported the internal discussions about a coordinator.
Efforts to name a coordinator comes two months after the US’ first monkeypox case was confirmed. Now, the total number of cases in the US has risen to about 2,900.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid coordinator, told reporters during Monday’s White House press briefing that more cases may pop up as testing becomes more easily available.
Jha said the US has ramped up testing access since early cases of monkeypox emerged – going from capacity for 6,000 tests per week to 80,000 tests per week. And he told CNN during the White House press briefing that he does not believe lower monkeypox testing capacity early on was a major limitation, but that one of the challenges was making it easier for providers to order a test.
But he also underscored that as more testing options come online, he “would not be surprised if we see an increase in cases as testing becomes more robust.”
“That’s a very normal part of any outbreak response … that as testing ramps up, you tend to see an increase in cases because people can identify it,” he continued.
Over the weekend, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
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https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/25/politics/monkeypox-coordinator-white-house/index.html
