US at risk of losing control of monkeypox outbreak

WASHINGTON: Medical experts are warning that the United States is at risk of losing control of the monkeypox outbreak due to sluggish government response, media report said.

US President Joe Biden’s administration “has been too slow to respond to the monkeypox outbreak,” which “mirrors the worst parts of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic,” Xinhua news agency reported quoting The Hill report.

The botched Covid-19 response included “severely limited testing and a sluggish rollout of vaccines, leading to a virus that’s spreading undetected,” the report said, quoting infectious disease experts and public health advocates.

Though the administration has been expanding testing capacity and broadening access to vaccinations, critics say the efforts may be coming too late, it added.