Monkeypox and COVID-19 are different in many ways. Though relatively rare, monkeypox has been around for decades; indeed, it has become endemic to parts of central and western Africa. There is already a vaccine that can prevent infection and research to show that monkeypox typically spreads via close or prolonged physical contact with an infectious person or their bodily fluids—meaning, based on what researchers know now, it probably won’t spread as widely or as fast as SARS-CoV-2, which can travel invisibly through the air.
Nonetheless, there has been some deja vu as monkeypox cases tick upward, reaching 780 in 27 non-endemic countries as of the World Health Organization’s latest update two days ago. Once again, a virus unknown to most people is spreading across the globe. Once again, it is turning up in people without relevant travel history or known exposure to a sick person. And once again, some experts say, public-health authorities are missing chances to block its path.
Monkeypox testing in the U.S. currently runs through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as was true of COVID-19 testing at the start of the pandemic. Joseph Osmundson, a clinical assistant professor of biology at New York University who co-authored a recent New York Times opinion piece on monkeypox response, says regulators need to start preparing now, while cases are low, to be ready in the event that changes. That means clearing the way for hospitals and laboratories to do their own testing, rather than sending everything to the CDC.
And in the meantime, it’s crucial to educate the public about signs of monkeypox and encourage health care providers to submit any possible cases to the CDC for testing, Osmundson says. “We really have no idea what the scale is right now,” he says. “We know it’s more than we’re detecting, but we have no idea how much more.”
Dr. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji, an infectious disease doctor at Emory University, recently told the Atlantic that experts should not fall into a certainty trap with monkeypox, speaking too confidently about an outbreak they are still learning much about. “If we’ve learned anything from COVID, it’s to have humility,” she said.
Some early statements about COVID-19—that masks wouldn’t work, for example—calcified into misinformation public-health authorities are still trying to fight. This time, experts must be careful to acknowledge what they do and do not know, and be clear that guidance may change. Osmundson has been encouraged that, with monkeypox, the CDC has largely deferred to experts who are gay, bisexual, or men who have sex with men on how best to communicate, given that people from those communities have been disproportionately affected so far. That may be a lesson learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted the importance of tailoring the right message to the right audience, particularly where vaccines are concerned.
The pandemic has strengthened some other public-health responses, too. The Biden Administration requested almost $90 billion to pay for things like laboratory surveillance networks and the development of testing and treatment infrastructure starting in fiscal year 2023. In a June 2 interview with STAT, Dr. Raj Panjabi, who directs the White House’s global health security efforts, said his team is working on plans to scale up monkeypox testing and vaccine production if necessary, not just in the U.S. but also around the world.
That last piece is crucial. Of all the lessons COVID-19 has taught us, one of the biggest is that a threat to one part of the globe is a threat to all. It’s too soon to say how big a threat monkeypox will be. But the time to act is now, Osmundson says. “Actions when it doesn’t seem that bad are the ones that have the largest effect,” he says.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
More than 531.9 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 10 a.m. E.T. today, and almost 6.3 million people have died. On June 5, there were 254,040 new cases and 1,296 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 10 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 84.7 million coronavirus cases as of 10 a.m. E.T. today. More than 1 million people have died. On June 5, 13,138 new cases were reported and 18 new deaths were confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of June 6, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Kids younger than 5 may be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in just a few weeks, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Thursday. That’s not guaranteed, as pediatric shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna won’t be available until they’re authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended by the CDC. But Jha is optimistic both steps will happen soon, hopefully allowing vaccination to start by June 21. “Our expectation is that within weeks every parent who wants their child to get vaccinated will be able to get an appointment,” he said.
Things aren’t looking so good for vaccine maker Novavax, which should learn tomorrow whether the FDA’s advisory panel will vote to authorize its COVID-19 shot. Documents released by the FDA on Friday raised concerns that Novavax’s vaccine (like others already on the market) could cause rare heart issues in small numbers of recipients. Novavax questioned that connection in a statement, but its stock fell by roughly 20% after the FDA report’s release, according to Bloomberg. Still, experts told Bloomberg the shot would likely receive FDA authorization despite the concern about side effects.
AirlineAirline industry executives are pushing for an end to COVID-19 testing requirements for international travelers, Reuters reports. At a recent conference, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom called the current policy—which requires most travelers to test negative within a day of their flight into the U.S.—”nonsensical.” Isom met with lawmakers last week to discuss the issue, and representatives from industry trade groups Airlines for America and U.S. Travel also recently met with administration officials, according to Reuters.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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