WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Department of Health and Human Services moved today to expand monkeypox testing across the country.
HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera signed a declaration today compelling the FDA Commissioner to issue an “emergency use authorization” to expand testing availability.
In August Secretary Beccera declared monkeypox a “public health emergency.”
“Last month, I declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency to unlock additional tools to signal to the American people that we are using every resource at our disposal to end this outbreak,” said Secretary Becerra. “Today’s action is an important step forward in our monkeypox response by allowing the FDA to facilitate the development of more validated monkeypox tests and expand access to testing.”
HHS says that partnerships with laboratories have increased testing to more than 80,000 per week.
Over 1 million vials of the JYNNEOS vaccine, officials say, have been made available, and nearly 800,000 doses have been distributed.
According to the Center for Disease Control, over 20,000 cases have been confirmed nationwide, with 210 reported cases in Ohio.