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“HHS is working to make these doses available to states and jurisdictions as soon as possible to fulfill their needs and will announce allocations tomorrow,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Aggressively responding to the monkeypox outbreak is a critical priority for HHS.” (Muller, 7/27)

A U.S. senator has called on federal health agencies to expand access to the national stockpile of a limited smallpox treatment known as tecovirimat amid continued soaring demand for the Jynneos vaccine. As of July 26, there were more than 3,500 cases of monkeypox in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, with only four states not declaring a single case yet. (Browne, 7/27)

The Food and Drug Administration has cleared an additional facility in Denmark to finish manufacturing monkeypox vaccines, allowing more doses to be distributed and administered across the U.S., the agency said Wednesday. (Ellen Foley, 7/27)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it plans to make the rapidly spreading monkeypox disease a nationally notifiable condition. The designation, which is set to take effect on Aug. 1, updates criteria for reporting of data on cases by states to the agency and would allow the agency to monitor and respond to monkeypox even after the current outbreak recedes, the CDC said. (7/27)

The declaration, which is made by the Department of Health and Human Services, would follow a similar decision made last weekend by the World Health Organization. By designating the outbreak an emergency, HHS could then take a slew of actions, including accessing new money and appointing new personnel, according to the law that dictates how and when the federal government can declare such an emergency. (Banco and Cancryn, 7/27)

There have been more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox reported globally from 78 countries, with the majority in Europe, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. The WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency on Saturday. So far, 98% of cases outside the countries in Africa where the virus is endemic have been reported in men who have sex with men, the WHO said. (7/27)

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 98% of the monkeypox cases detected since the outbreaks emerged in May have been among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. He called for those at risk to take steps to protect themselves. “That means making safe choices for yourself and others, for men who have sex with men,” Tedros said. “This includes, for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners.” (7/27)

Yesterday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health) sent a letter to the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, asking that monkeypox be renamed as soon as possible. (Soucheray, 7/27)