People protest during a rally calling for more government action to combat the spread of monkeypox at Foley Square on July 21, 2022 in New York City.
Jeenah Moon | Getty Images
The Biden administration is declaring monkeypox a public health emergency as the U.S. outbreak has grown into the largest in the world, the nation’s top health official said Thursday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s emergency declaration will help mobilize more resources to fight the outbreak, which has spread swiftly since health authorities in Boston confirmed the first U.S. case in May. The last time the U.S. declared a public health emergency was in response to Covid-19 in January 2020.
The U.S. has confirmed more than 6,600 cases of monkeypox in 48 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The real number of…
