The Biden administration on Thursday declared the spread of the monkeypox virus a public health emergency, invoking powers that could speed up the federal response amid sharp criticism from U.S. lawmakers and a vaccine rollout that local health officials deem insufficient.

The United States now has 6,617 reported cases of the virus, up from less than 500 at the end of June. A large portion of infections are in New York, which has more than 1,600 cases.

What You Need To Know

  • The Biden administration on Thursday declared the spread of the monkeypox virus a public health emergency, invoking powers that could speed up the federal response 

  • U.S. lawmakers and health officials have criticized the federal government for what they say is a lack of urgency in responding to the virus and a slow vaccine rollout

  • One of the White House's newest officials leading the monkeypox response told Spectrum News Thursday that the emergency declaration was about "acknowledging that there's a supply and demand issue with vaccine"

  • In one populated North Caorlina county, local health officials told Spectrum News they had more than 2,100 people on a vaccine waitlist this week, with a “couple hundred” names added each day

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the health emergency on Thursday afternoon, saying his agency was prepared to take its response "to the next level" and urging "every American to take monkeypox seriously."

The agency can now draw from emergency funds, hire or reassign staff to deal with the outbreak, and take other steps to control the virus. Officials also said the emergency declaration will help get vaccines and treatments out more quickly and gather data from state and local health officials in order to track the outbreak.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the White House's new deputy coordinator for the monkeypox response, told Spectrum News in an interview Thursday that the emergency declaration was about "acknowledging that there's a supply and demand issue with vaccine" and a need to move forward with "greater urgency."

"It acknowledges that this is not business as usual, that this is an outbreak that's moving way different than we'd expect," he added.

The Biden administration has allocated 1.1 million vaccines and delivered about 602,000, officials said Thursday, though the federal government has ordered a total 6.9 million for delivery through mid-2023.

But state and local officials say they need more of the two-shot vaccine right now, as people line up around the country for limited appointments and the nation adds hundreds of new cases daily. Members of Congress have called the Biden administration’s response a “failure” and declared the initially reluctant reaction “a threat to public health.”

In one new effort to increase supply, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that his agency was also exploring a strategy that would allow doctors to turn a one-dose vial of vaccine into five by injecting the medicine differently.

Dr. Daskalakis said that would have a "significant impact" on vaccine supply and that the FDA could make a decision within a matter of days.

In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina — which includes the city of Charlotte — local health officials told Spectrum News they had more than 2,100 people on a vaccine waitlist this week, with a “couple hundred” names added each day.

“Our supply of vaccine has really been slow coming,” said Dr. Raynard Washington, the county’s health director. “We’ve consistently had a couple of thousand people waiting.”

The county had received 3,847 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine of the 10,148 delivered to North Carolina as of Tuesday.

The monkeypox virus primarily impacts men from 18 to 44 years old who have sex with other men. The virus can cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and pimple-like bumps on many parts of the body, and it is typically spread through prolonged, skin-to-skin contact.

But Dr. Daskalakis cautioned that it can reach anyone.

"Viruses don't heed geographic borders, nor do they heed borders that are related to sexual orientation," he said. "[It is] important that people understand that if they have a rash they don't understand, it's good to get checked."

Mecklenburg County, a metropolitan area with a major travel hub, counts for most of North Carolina's infections.

“Our cases have been doubling pretty consistently every three to four days,” Dr. Washington said. “We've been working here locally to advocate that, given the disproportionate burden of the outbreak on Mecklenburg County, we should be receiving more [vaccine].”

North Carolina officials expect to get the rest of their latest doses over the next four to six weeks. 

U.S. lawmakers say it’s not enough. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Wednesday that the federal government should use the Defense Production Act to speed up vaccine production, and others have called for a public health emergency declaration for weeks.

State officials in California, New York and Illinois had already declared their own states of emergency due to the outbreak, along with the cities of New York and San Francisco. 

Yet so far, the White House has not made a formal request to Congress for additional funding to fight moneypox.

Asked about that on Thursday, Dr. Daskalakis emphasized that "current resources are really moving in the right direction" and that any additional policy actions are still being discussed.

A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Spectrum News that federal officials are distributing vaccines based on the number of cases in an area and the number of people at risk, which includes men who have HIV or are eligible for HIV PrEP, a drug used to lower the risk of HIV.

“Some states have requested their entire allocations. Some have not,” the spokesperson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.