States Declare Emergencies As Biden Administration Names Monkeypox Management Team  

Updated

By Jefferey Jaxen

For those who lived through the opening rounds of the COVID response, there is a familiar feeling as states and cities begin to line up to declare state of emergencies for the monkeypox outbreaks. 

On Monday, both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared states of emergency in their states. On the same day, New York Mayor Eric Adams followed suit in “a move that lets him suspend local laws and enact new rulesto better manage the city’s outbreak” reports Politico. 

Cities may also be acting in alignment with some states as the San Diego Union-Tribune reported, Nathan Fletcher, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, was quick to signal that “we are likely to align with the state in the coming days by making our own declaration.”

It has become common knowledge that the monkeypox virus is nothing like the coronavirus – both in transmissibility and mutation rate. The states of emergency declarations allow individual states to coordinate the distribution vaccines, prevention efforts and to raise awareness about the issue while working to align with whatever the federal response looks like.

To date, no emergency federal response has been declared yet the Biden Administration has picked Robert Fenton, a regional administrator for FEMA to serve as the White House monkeypox coordinator. Meanwhile, the director of the Division of H.I.V. Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, will serve as his deputy.

With a primary focus on vaccinations, the nation’s eyes now look to Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine for answers. The U.S. government has invested a whopping $1B over the last decade to bolster a stockpile of Jynneos vaccine for this exact scenario, so what do we know about its effectiveness? 

 In an August 1 article by MedpageToday, the title reads How Well Does the Monkeypox Vax Work? No One Knows for Sure. 

Media outlets are throwing around the number of 85% effectiveness. Yet as MedpageToday states, that number “is based entirely on a small study done in Africa in the 1980s that has major limitations. One data expert calls its findings “pretty weak.” Other studies have only been conducted in animals.”

There are two inconvenient facts emerging during these declared emergencies concerning America’s highly-prized, billion dollar vaccine investment.

First, a major concern was voiced at the WHO meeting last week by Unit Head of Global Infectious Hazards Preparedness at the WHO Tim Nguyen, when he stated: 

“I would like to underline one thing that is very important to WHO. We do have uncertainties around the effectiveness of these vaccines because they haven’t been used in this context and this scale before. And therefore, we are working with our member states, that when these vaccines are being delivered, that they are delivered in the context of clinical trial studies and prospectively collecting this data to increase our understanding on the effectiveness of these vaccines.” 

And second, in concurrence with Nguyen’s warning to the WHO, the CDC similarly states: “We do not know if JYNNEOS will fully protect against monkeypox virus infection in this outbreak. Individuals wanting to minimize their risk of infection should take additional preventive measures and self-isolate as soon as they develop monkeypox symptoms, such as a rash.”

While states step up prevention efforts and raise awareness to slow the spread of monkeypox, it seems like the Achilles’ heel, much like during the coronavirus outbreak, is the vaccine’s questionable effectiveness at stopping both transmission and infection.

The question on many people’s minds moving forward, after two years of societally-damaging lockdown restrictions imposed by public health officials and cheered on by experts in the media, is will they place restrictions on all of society in an attempt to slow the spread of monkeypox? 

Jefferey Jaxen

Jefferey Jaxen is a health journalist and featured in his weekly segment, ’The Jaxen Report’, on The HighWire. As an investigative journalist, researcher, and compelling writer, Jefferey serves as Lead editor of The HighWire News and Opinion Team.

Other Headlines

Coronavirus

Vaccine Causes Autism in Rats, Per New Study

A new study finds autism-like behaviors in male offspring when pregnant rats are given BNT162b2, the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. This single study clearly refutes the mantra of Big Pharma that “vaccines do not, and cannot, cause autism.” The study found significant alterations in WNT gene expressions in male and female rats. The researchers mention the limitations of animalContinue reading Vaccine Causes Autism in Rats, Per New Study

More news about Coronavirus

Health & Nutrition

Legal Battles and Health Risks: The Controversy Surrounding Ozempic

There are at least 55 lawsuits against Novo Nordisk for their diabetes drug, Ozempic that has been frequently prescribed off-label as a “miracle” weight loss drug. A multi-district legislation has moved all federal Ozempic lawsuits into the Eastern district of Pennsylvania under Judge Gene Pratter. The current lawsuits have claims of gastrointestinal issues, the most severe ofContinue reading Legal Battles and Health Risks: The Controversy Surrounding Ozempic

More news about Health & Nutrition

Vaccines

Entries Within V-Safe Data Release Raise Eyebrows

The first batch of free-text V-safe data was released on February 15th, after a court victory. With 390,000 free text entries, it is time-consuming to browse and find the most revealing details. There was one comment that said “death,” and another said, “died.” There were several results for “miscarriage,” while a few more comments mentionedContinue reading Entries Within V-Safe Data Release Raise Eyebrows

More news about Vaccines

Science & Tech

USDA Reopens Comment Period for Deregulation of Gene-Edited Plants

The deregulation of gene-edited plants is on the USDA agenda, and the public comment period has been extended by 21 days. The comment page has yet to be posted on the Federal Register. CRISPR is a new technology that is being used in agriculture to modify plants. “New Gene Technologies” or NGTs are how big agricultural companies like Bayer areContinue reading USDA Reopens Comment Period for Deregulation of Gene-Edited Plants

More news about Science & Tech

Environment

Biden Faces Massive Opposition to Electric Vehicle Mandate

The Biden administration’s push for an electric vehicle (EV) mandate has received massive opposition from a wide range of stakeholders, including 26 states and the energy, agriculture, and automotive industries. Critics say that the new fuel standards would increase consumer costs and put an unfair burden on U.S. businesses.  On November 24, the Department of Transportation’s NationalContinue reading Biden Faces Massive Opposition to Electric Vehicle Mandate

More news about Environment

Policy

FDA Settles Ivermectin Case, Removes Social Media Posts

The FDA has settled a court case that alleged the agency overstepped with its campaign against ivermectin. The federal agency needs to remove every post or statement they made against ivermectin. This includes the most viewed post for the FDA on the platform X, in which they state, “You’re not a horse, stop it.” The Front LineContinue reading FDA Settles Ivermectin Case, Removes Social Media Posts

More news about Policy