Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Pictures of Biden's newly appointed Monkeypox coordinator, Demetre Daskalakis, at gay outing and club causes stirs.
The U.S. monkeypox outbreak is slowing as vaccines have become more available and there's broader public awareness about what actions individuals can take to lower their risk of infection, according to White House health officials.
Demetre Daskalakis, deputy head of the White House monkeypox response team, said it took 25 days for cases to double in August, down from eight days in July. California, New York, Illinois and Texas have all seen significant declines in new cases over the past month, Daskalakis said.
Monkeypox is primarily spreading during sex among gay and bisexual men, though anyone can catch the virus through close physical contact with someone who is infected or contaminated materials such as towels and bedsheets. The disease is rarely fatal, but causes painful lesions resembling pimples or blisters.
The Biden administration faced criticism over the summer for not moving quickly enough to ramp up vaccine supply to meet the tremendous demand for the shots. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a public health emergency last month, and the Food and Drug Administration authorized a different method to administer the vaccines that allows providers to extract more doses from each vaccine vial.
The Jynneos vaccine, manufactured by Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic, is the only approved monkeypox vaccine in the U.S. It is administered in two doses 28 days apart, with the peak immune response coming two weeks after the second dose.
DR. DASKALAKIS: Thank you, Bob. We are encouraged by the progress that we’re making right now. You’ll see the chart to my left. We only have data from 35 jurisdictions; that’s just over half of all jurisdictions that are directly receiving vaccine. But over 460,000 doses have been administered.
Keep in mind, the population at highest risk is approximately 1.6 million people right now. So even with this partial view we have now from the reporting jurisdictions, we’re seeing strong progress really getting shots into arms.
So now that supply is less of an issue, we need to make sure we focus on maintaining demand by making sure that people know that effective and safe vaccine is available for those that could benefit.
Statement from The White House:
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Good afternoon, everybody. All right, so today we have two new guests that are with us in the briefing room. Our Monkeypox Response Coordinator, Bob Fenton, and Deputy Coordinator, Dr. Demetre, are here with us to provide an update on our progress against the monkeypox outbreak and take a few questions.
And I will have — Bob, you want to go first?
MR. FENTON: Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right.
MR. FENTON: Well, good morning, and thanks for having me and Dr. Daskalakis here in the briefing room today.
We wanted to provide an update on the progress we’re making in fighting the monkeypox outbreak.
As we announced a couple of weeks back, we have ample supply to vaccinate the highest-risk individuals against monkeypox. Nearly all jurisdictions have moved toward the intradermal vaccine approach, which means that jurisdictions have effectively transitioned toward an approach that has gotten not only more shots into arms but also without sacrificing the safety and effectiveness of the JYNNEOS vaccine. In fact, over 70 percent of all vaccines being administered in the United States today are given intradermally.
Our focus now is to reach the remainder of the eligible population where they are: at trusted locations and events across the country. And equity has to be a key point and priority embedded in throughout our response.
This past week, we saw how successful that approach is. Because of our direct allocations for Southern Decadence in New Orleans, Black Pride in Atlanta, and Oakland Pride, thousands of shots were administered during these events. In fact, over 3,000 doses were administered at Southern Decadence and their affiliated events. And nearly 4,000 doses were administered at Black Pride in Atlanta.
That means thousands of individuals are being — getting their protection against monkeypox that they may not have if — otherwise.
These events demonstrate our strategy is working.
We’re also accelerating our efforts to provide vaccines to places and people that we know will make a difference. As Dr. Daskalakis announced last week, we are launching a new program that allows local health departments to request vaccines to use innovatively through strategies to reach Black and brown communities.
And today, we’re announcing that we’re providing more vaccines to upcoming Pride events across the country — first to Idaho, where 820 doses will be made available for the weekend of Boise Pride; and second, 10,000 doses to California, ahead of the Folsom Street Fair, the Castro Street Fair in San Francisco toward the end of this month.
We will continue to pull every lever and meet people where they are to end this outbreak. And we’re already seeing progress, as Dr. Daskalakis will brief out here in a little bit.
Sir?
DR. DASKALAKIS: Thank you, Bob. We are encouraged by the progress that we’re making right now. You’ll see the chart to my left. We only have data from 35 jurisdictions; that’s just over half of all jurisdictions that are directly receiving vaccine. But over 460,000 doses have been administered.
Keep in mind, the population at highest risk is approximately 1.6 million people right now. So even with this partial view we have now from the reporting jurisdictions, we’re seeing strong progress really getting shots into arms.
So now that supply is less of an issue, we need to make sure we focus on maintaining demand by making sure that people know that effective and safe vaccine is available for those that could benefit.
Alongside our vaccination efforts, we’ve scaled up access to testing and treatments, as well as ensuring that LGBTQAI+ individuals know how to reduce their risk.
Together, those efforts are leading to positive trends in the data that CDC has collected over the last couple of weeks, especially in our hardest-hit areas.
So, as you can see, the week-over-week growth rates of the virus, meaning how quickly the virus is spreading, is trending downward in some of the areas involved earliest in the outbreak. Places like New York, California, Texas, and Illinois are all seeing significant declines in growth rates over the last month.
To put a finer point to it, back in July, CDC estimated that it took eight days for cases to double nationwide. By mid-August, the doubling rate was 25 days, showing encouraging signs of progress.
The positive trends that we’re seeing in this data also speak to the actions that individuals have taken across the country to protect themselves against the virus. That includes changing their behaviors and seeking out testing and vaccines.
Ned wrote: How do you suppose he introduces himself? I’m Demetre Dasalakis. I’m on the White House team. I’m the monkey pox hiv coordinator. You can’t make this stuff up."
Johnson:" Demetre Dasalakis, Biden's newly appointed Monkeypox coordinator. Oh yeah almost forgot, he's a Satanist. A free Ouija board comes with every vaccination."
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