China News Agency, Washington, August 2 (Reporter Chen Mengtong) US President Biden announced on the 2nd the establishment of a special working team to deal with the monkeypox epidemic in the United States.
The first case of monkeypox was confirmed in the United States on May 18.
According to statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of August 2, 6,326 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the United States, including 1,617 cases in New York State, 826 cases in California, and 533 cases in Illinois.
All three states have declared a state of emergency over the monkeypox outbreak.
Biden appointed Robert Fenton, an official from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Demetre Daskalakis, a public health expert, as the White House's deputy coordinator for the monkeypox outbreak.
The two men will coordinate the White House's response to the monkeypox outbreak with all federal departments and agencies, the White House said.
The U.S. government will assist states in enhancing virus tracking of monkeypox outbreaks, ensuring adequate supplies of virus testing, vaccinating high-risk groups, and providing treatment options for patients.
To control the spread of the monkeypox virus, the U.S. health administration has provided more than 1.1 million doses of the vaccine to states and select cities, increased testing capacity from 6,000 a week to more than 80,000 a week, and regularly communicates with local health departments, the White House said. Communicate to encourage increased testing frequency.
The official resume shows that Fenton has more than 25 years of experience in federal emergency management matters, including serving twice as acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In early 2020, Fenton was in charge of FEMA's massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
Daskalakis is the head of the CDC's HIV/AIDS response and previously worked at the New York City CDC.
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