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On Tuesday, President Biden announced a team to coordinate and manage the White House’s monkeypox response efforts as the virus spreads to cities and states across the country.
The president appointed Robert Fenton, Regional Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as the White House’s National Monkeypox Response Coordinator, and Dr. Demetre Dascalakis as Deputy Coordinator.
“Fenton and De Ascalakis will lead the administration’s strategy and operations to combat the current monkeypox epidemic, including equitably increasing the availability of testing, vaccination and treatment,” the White House said Tuesday. ” he said.
Fenton has twice served as FEMA’s Deputy Administrator and has led “multiple difficult prevention, response and recovery operations” throughout his career.
New York City, Illinois declare state of emergency over monkeypox
A leading public health expert, Daskalakis is currently director of the Division of HIV Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The White House said he is “an expert on health issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community.” Daskalakis previously oversaw infectious disease management at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Health.
The White House said both officials “played an important role in making COVID vaccines more accessible to underserved communities and in closing an equitable gap in adult vaccination coverage.” .
Monkeypox in numbers: Facts about a rare virus circulating today
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, added that the team “will enable the Biden administration to further accelerate and strengthen its response to monkeypox.”
The two officials will coordinate and manage response efforts across the White House and all federal departments and agencies, as well as work with local, state, national, and international stakeholders to curb the “spread of monkeypox.” are expected to track and fight
California, Illinois, and New York have declared monkeypox emergencies.
On May 18, the first case of monkeypox was confirmed in the United States.
So far, the Biden administration has made more than 1.1 million doses of the vaccine available to states and cities across the country and expanded testing capacity from 6,000 to more than 80,000 tests per week to control the spread of the virus. Did.
“Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, which is part of the same virus family as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox,” the CDC said on its website. .
Monkeypox: What You Need to Know About the Virus and How to Protect Yourself
Symptoms of monkeypox are milder than those of smallpox, and monkeypox is rarely fatal.
According to the CDC, the virus is not related to chickenpox. Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 when monkeys kept for research were shown to have two outbreaks of his pox-like disease.
Symptoms of monkeypox include headache, muscle aches, fatigue, fever, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, and chills.
A rash or lesions may develop within 1 to 3 days, according to the CDC.
CDC shares many healthy actions we can all take to limit contact and transmission of disease.
Who Declares Monkeypox A Global Health Emergency?
Among these tips: Avoid close skin-to-skin contact with someone with a rash. Do not touch the rash or scabs of someone who has monkeypox. Do not share utensils, plates or cups with someone who has the virus. Do not handle or touch a monkeypox patient’s bedding, towels, or clothing. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
The CDC recommends that people with monkeypox stay in isolation at home, noting that very close personal contact is another cause of the rapid spread of the virus.
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People with an active rash or other symptoms should “stay in a separate room or area, away from people and pets they live with, whenever possible.”
Fox News’ Deirdre Reilly contributed to this report.