California and Oregon are two of several states that are seeking to have additional monkeypox vaccines provided by the federal government.
California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon called on the federal government to declare a public emergency regarding the disease.
Oregon epidemiologist, Dr. Dean Sidelinger, said the state wanted “to be able to shift to a more preventive attitude” with more vaccines available.
According to Los Angeles District Superintendent Hilda Solis, Los Angeles County now reports 120 confirmed cases of monkeypox.
Meanwhile, Oregon has confirmed 32 cases in the state.
Both states emphasize outreach strategies for the communities most at risk.
US health officials announced Friday that more than 100,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine are being shipped to states. They admit that the current supply of vaccines has not matched the demands made by the governments of the state of New York, California and other states.
Monkeypox is an endemic disease in parts of Africa, where people are infected through the bites of rodents or small animals. Usually this disease does not spread easily between humans.
However, so far this year there have been more than 12,000 cases reported in countries that have historically never had the disease. The infection has emerged in men who have same-sex sex at events in Europe, although health officials have confirmed that anyone can catch the virus.
As of last Friday, more than 1,800 cases were reported in the US, with hundreds of cases adding up every day. According to the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), nearly all sufferers are men, most of whom have same-sex relationships.
Experts believe the real number of cases is much higher than reported.
Those with monkeypox are likely to experience fever, pain, chills and fatigue. Many of them have bumps like pimples on many parts of the body. There were no deaths, and in many men these cases were relatively mild. [em/rd]
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