In mid-June, cases of monkeypox were in the double digits in the United States. There were drug treatments and vaccines against it. There didn’t seem to be any reason for alarm.But in the weeks since, the virus has spread rapidly across the country, with some local and state officials declaring public health emergencies.Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Longstanding weaknesses in the American public health system are giving monkeypox a chance to become entrenched.Here are answers to three pressing questions about how the virus spreads and how it can be treated.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Monkeypox has become a public health emergency in San Francisco amidst a global outbreak of the virus which now accounts for over 4,900 confirmed cases in 46 states and the District of Columbia.
The US has various tools at its disposal to control the monkeypox outbreak, including a vaccine against smallpox that works against monkeypox, but doctors' difficulties in identifying the symptoms hinder the prompt testing of patients, delaying the diagnosis.
A patient describes the effectiveness of a new drug, which reduced the swelling and redness caused by dermatological lesions in 24 hours.
The US pandemic response system is fragmented and decentralized, creating challenges in coordinating a unified response to emergent infectious diseases. Experts predict that this fragmented approach will remain for future pandemic responses, despite being a significant contributor to the country's struggles with COVID-19 and monkeypox.
Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia agreed to support the climate bill, negotiated by a small group of Democrats, which would set aside $369 billion for climate and energy proposals. Meanwhile, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again and had to cancel some of his upcoming trips.