(WASHINGTON) – The White House said Sunday it is confident officials can "eliminate" monkeypox from the United States by accelerating the deployment of vaccines and treatments against the spread of the virus.
"I think monkeypox can absolutely be contained," Dr. Ashish Jha, White House coronavirus response coordinator, told CBS News.
"We responded quickly," Jha said, rejecting accusations that the administration of President Joe Biden was caught off guard when the first cases appeared in the United States a couple of months ago.
He said Washington had made a "very substantial" increase in its response, including the recent purchase of 800,000 doses of vaccine from Denmark, since the start of the outbreak in May, when monkeypox vaccine stocks were limited.
"The plan is to eliminate this virus from the United States. I think we can do it," Jha said.
The World Health Organization to try to contain the outbreak of monkeypox, which has affected nearly 17,000 people in 74 countries.
The center of the outbreak in the United States is currently New York City, where the majority of cases are in men who have had same-sex relationships.
Jha admitted that the virus spreads mostly in the gay male community but stressed that "other people are also at risk, especially those who are in close contact with someone infected."