The Biden administration will end the public health emergency declared in response to the monkeypox outbreak, as new infections have declined dramatically and vaccination rates have increased.
The Health and Human Services Department does not expect it will renew the emergency declaration after it expires on Jan. 31 “given the low number of cases today,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday.
“But we won’t take our foot off the gas — we will continue to monitor the case trends closely and encourage all at-risk individuals to get a free vaccine,” he said. “As we move into the next phase of this effort, the Biden-Harris Administration continues working closely with jurisdictions and partners to monitor trends, especially in communities that have been disproportionately affected.”
Becerra declared an emergency in August in an effort to accelerate a vaccination and education campaign as the virus was spreading swiftly in the gay community. The spread of the virus, dubbed “mpox” on Monday by the World Health Organization in order to reduce stigma associated with its name, has slowed drastically since.
Mpox has infected nearly 30,000 people and killed 19 in the U.S. since health officials confirmed the first domestic case in May, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. outbreak is the largest in the world.
But infections have slowed dramatically since August, when new cases peaked at more than 450 per day on average. The U.S. is currently averaging about seven new cases a day, according to CDC data.
U.S. health officials have said the outbreak has slowed because vaccinations have increased dramatically, and people have changed their behavior in response to education campaigns about how to avoid infection.
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