Confirmed cases of monkeypox have passed the 10,000 mark in the United States, reaching 10,392 as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The dashboard of this federal public health agency shows that 1,391 cases were identified on Wednesday, the first time that the thousand mark has been crossed since the identification of the first case on May 17.
Cases in the United States represent almost 30% of the global total (31,800 so far), although the country’s population constitutes less than 5% of the world’s population.
The Biden administration declared monkeypox a national public health emergency on Aug. 4, just over a week after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a “public health emergency of major concern.” international”.
Some have accused US authorities of reacting too late and not providing enough vaccine doses to meet demand as cases continue to rise.
Scott Wiener, an elected member of the California State Senate, said the federal government should have done more to conserve its stockpiles of Jynneos smallpox vaccine, a serum that is also effective against monkeypox.