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The White House is planning to name Robert J. Fenton Jr. as coordinator of the nation’s monkeypox response amid a surging epidemic that has prompted three states to declare health emergencies, according to four people with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment about the pending announcement. (Diamond, 8/1)

A trio of House Democrats on Monday requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review the “adequacy of the Federal response to the monkeypox outbreak.” In a letter addressed to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), Richie Torres (N.Y.) and Val Demings (Fla.) asked that the government watchdog agency conduct a review in order to “make recommendations for ongoing and future preparedness and response efforts.” (Choi, 8/1)

Less than a decade ago, the United States had some 20 million doses of a new smallpox vaccine — also effective against monkeypox — sitting in freezers in a national stockpile. (Goldstein, 8/1)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak on Monday, the third U.S. state to do so in a matter of days. (Kimball, 8/1)

Eight of the top 10 metro areas searching online for nearby monkeypox vaccines over the last week were in California, according to Google Trends. The Jynneos vaccine, which has been approved for protection from monkeypox preventatively and post-exposure, remains in short supply across the nation. Clinics report long waitlists for the vaccine, and images from many U.S. cities have shown people in lines snaking around city blocks to get the shots. (Toohey, 8/1)

Monkeypox has been detected in Southern Nevada’s wastewater, suggesting there are more infections than the 23 cases reported in Clark County, a UNLV researcher said Monday. (Hynes, 8/1)

State health experts say universities should start communicating with students ahead of the fall semester about how to identify symptoms and avoid contracting the virus. They also say schools should consider how they would respond to an outbreak on campuses where students live in close proximity engaging in intimate behaviors and sharing beverages or food. (McGee, 8/1)

Whether you’re confused by the headlines or exhausted trying to make sense of them, you’re not alone. Here, an epidemiologist cuts through the swirl of misinformation to help you understand the facts about monkeypox, including how it’s contracted, prevented, and how worried you should really be. (Fields, 8/1)