States typically have broad powers to act to prevent and control the spread of disease, such as issuing isolation or quarantine orders, without issuing an emergency declaration. Stacey Kirshner, deputy director of the Center for Law, Health and Social Affairs in Georgia Law, said state officials should calculate whether an emergency order for the monkeypox outbreak is needed to free up resources and ramp up the response. said there was a need.
Stacey Kirshner, Deputy Director of the Legal, Health and Social Center of Georgia Law
Credit: Georgia State University
Credit: Georgia State University
Stacey Kirshner, Deputy Director of the Legal, Health and Social Center of Georgia Law
Credit: Georgia State University
Credit: Georgia State University
“It’s a fine balance, and it’s what the state weighs all the factors and decides whether to issue an order now or wait to see if it’s needed more,” Kirshner said.
The number of monkeypox cases in Georgia rose to 951 late Monday, up from 211 cases three weeks ago.
For now, Georgia appears to be in the “wait and see” group, she said.
If the state does not have sufficient time, personnel, or resources to address the threat of an epidemic, states will consider: Declare a public health emergency so that they can do anything from distracting employees from their normal duties to helping respond to an outbreak, and to act quickly for hiring or purchasing. suspend the normal bureaucratic process of
In relation to vaccines, emergency orders could help expedite distribution by allowing more people, such as EMTs, to receive the vaccine. In the case of monkeypox, much of the problem is access to vaccines from the federal government. There’s not much the state can do to speed it up at this point, she said.
Nathan Townsend, manager of preventive services at NAESM, an organization that addresses gay black male health, said: He has worked to get individuals vaccinated against monkeypox.
Whether or not the state declares a state of emergency, the important thing is that the government is taking the necessary steps to control the outbreak, Townsend said. is the most pressing issue, but state health officials need to improve communication about where and how to get vaccines. Announced a centralized online vaccine signup where anyone can sign up for monkeypox or COVID-19 vaccination.
The federal government recently declared a public health emergency to step up its response to the monkeypox outbreak. The announcement frees up money and other resources to fight a virus that can cause fevers, body aches and acne-like bumps on many parts of the body.
The Georgia Department of Health is hosting a large monkeypox vaccine clinic in DeKalb County.
The Georgia Department of Health is hosting a large monkeypox vaccine clinic in DeKalb County.
declared by of The Department of Health and Human Services has emerged as the Biden administration faces criticism over the pace of monkeypox vaccine availability. The White House said it enabled more than 1.1 million doses and helped boost the country’s diagnostic capacity to 80,000 tests per week, he said.
The Biden administration has approved a new method of injecting the monkeypox vaccine to expand the scarce supply. The Food and Drug Administration has issued an Emergency Use Authorization allowing a smaller dose of the Gineos vaccine to be injected just under the skin.
This could lead to an exponential increase in doses, and NAESM’s Townsend said Georgia may need to reconsider issuing a state of emergency to be able to quickly manage all these doses. I said no.
Governors of California, New York and Illinois have also declared states of emergency in response to monkeypox outbreaks. Some cities, such as New York City and San Francisco, have also issued their own state of emergency declarations.
The monkeypox virus is spread by prolonged skin-to-skin contact, such as hugging, cuddling, kissing, and sharing bedding and towels. So far, most cases have occurred in men who have sex with men, but health officials stress that the virus can infect anyone.
So far, there have been no reports of deaths in the United States during this growing outbreak. Several deaths have been reported in other countries.
Under the federal proclamation, HHS can draw on emergency funds, hire or redeploy staff to deal with outbreaks, and take other steps to control the virus.
For example, the announcement should help the federal government seek more information from state and local health officials about who has been infected and who has been vaccinated. That information can be used to better understand how outbreaks are evolving and how well vaccines are working.
People with monkeypox can isolate and recover at home if they have no complications, thus not straining hospital resources. There are also no social distancing protocols for the general public because monkeypox is not highly contagious outside of long-term, close personal contact, Isenhour said.
“However, I would like to reiterate that there is no lack of concern or lack of preparedness for further action on the part of the state,” said Isenhour.He said the Kemp administration and health officials are closely monitoring the spread of the virus. said. He did not rule out the possibility of a future declaration.