we must take monkeypox seriously

 

With everything going on in the world, monkeypox might not be your biggest concern. But the World Health Organization (WHO) just declared monkeypox an “evolving global threat” as cases surge around the world — so we need to make sure our government doesn’t repeat the failures and inaction we saw early in the COVID-19 pandemic. And that means we need to act right now to stop monkeypox from gaining a foothold that makes it even harder to control: In 2004, the US government promised to provide the WHO 20 million doses of smallpox vaccine in the event of an emergency.   Since smallpox was eradicated from the face of the earth in 1980, we no longer vaccinate against it. The smallpox vaccine is the best defense against monkeypox that is currently available for humans.  The CDC and WHO are recommending that people exposed to monkeypox or at risk of being exposed, such as some health and lab workers, get a smallpox vaccine. So now is the time to fulfill our promise, provide smallpox vaccines to the WHO, and stop monkeypox before it becomes another global health emergency! Tell the White House: Provide the World Health Organization with 20 million smallpox doses immediately. We can’t afford to wait while monkeypox spreads without constraint. The Biden Administration can send smallpox vaccine doses — that we’re not even using — to the WHO to save lives and kickstart the global monkeypox response… Or they could sit on their hands while monkeypox spreads unchecked around the world, gaining a stronger foothold in more countries and causing new waves of illness. Send the White House a message and urge them to crush monkeypox while it’s just getting started! Thanks for doing your part to fight monkeypox, George Public Citizen

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