Biden administration declares monkeypox public health emergency

(Washington, DC)  --  The Biden administration is declaring the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency in the U.S.  During a briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that the virus is spreading rapidly.  She insisted the administration is working aggressively to end the outbreak as soon as possible, including the rapid dispersal of monkeypox vaccines.  

The virus has been spreading primarily through direct physical contact.  More than 66-hundred cases have been considered probable or confirmed since monkeypox was first found in the U.S.  Cases have been detected in every state except Montana and Wyoming. 

State health officials in Minnesota say the vast majority of cases have been among men who have sex with other men. The director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota says the outbreak is mostly affecting "highly sexually active gay men".