Local health authorities and lawmakers have repeatedly called on the Biden administration to take more action in response to the monkeypox outbreak. Now the White House appears to be backing down from trying to spread the blame to include state and local governments.
health and human services HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said during a Thursday news conference on monkeypox that state and local governments “ultimately determine how health care is administered in their jurisdictions.”
“We think we have done what helps our state and local health care partners stay ahead of this and we will continue to monitor because we cannot let this get out of hand,” Becerra said Thursday. “And we will do everything in our power to be a good partner with our state and local governments, who ultimately determine how health care is administered in their jurisdictions.”
He further stated that the federal government does not control public health in “territories and tribal jurisdiction.”
“They need to work with us,” Becerra said.
These comments come amid ongoing criticism that monkeypox vaccines, tests and treatments are still out of reach for many people, as cases have soared to more than 5,000 nationwide. Since the start of the monkeypox outbreak, state and local leaders have called on the White House to provide more assistance.
In New York, where the epicenter of the US monkeypox outbreak is located, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) have asked the administration of Biden to provide more vaccines and treatments.
When contacted for comment, an HHS spokesperson said Becerra’s comments were intended to convey that “in a public health crisis, all levels of government (federal, state, local, tribal) have an important role.” to perform”.
“HHS and the federal government are doing everything they can to provide response tools and support to state and local officials and health workers providing care on the front lines, because without them, we won’t be able to get ahead of the virus and put end this outbreak,” the spokesman said.
Marcus Plescia, medical director for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), said he and his organization were “a little surprised” by what Becerra said.
“I guess we were a little surprised just because this has been very collaborative and … it’s never perfect, but it’s as close to perfect as you can get as far as the interface between the feds and the states,” Plescia said.
Adriane Casalotti, chief of public and government affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), reiterated the need for a strong collaborative effort against monkeypox, noting that departments Local health officials still rely on other parts of the US public health system to act appropriately against monkeypox.
“For example, aside from about five cities, no local health departments are going direct; most of our partners are not receiving a direct allocation of vaccines,” Casalotti said.
Noting the lack of supplemental funding for monkeypox, Casalotti said local health departments are “doing all of this work within the limits of the resources that they have and a local health department can’t ask Congress for resources on a regular basis.” individual”.
Becerra said Thursday that the administration has done everything it can to help state and local partners get ahead of the monkeypox outbreak, but Casalotti said resource allocation is currently “really lopsided” and that many local health departments they lack the tools they would ideally have. during an outbreak like this.
“So in every community, there is work that needs to be done. And that work must be done with the same people who continue to fight the pandemic,” says Casalotti. “The same people who are trying to pick up the pieces of the pandemic, including the increase in opioid rates and STI rates and the reduction in vaccinations in the child population.”
Asked if Biden could declare a public health emergency over the outbreak, as many congressional Democrats recently asked him to do, both Plescia and Casalotti said it would help improve communication between state and local governments and the White House.
“Generally, when there is a national emergency, there are many benefits for the states. I mean, it tends to make resources more available. It tends to speed up the processes you have to go through to get things done,” Plescia said.
Plescia said declaring a public health emergency would also help resolve issues with states sharing data with the federal government, which Becerra also noted could be improved. Casalotti said his organization generally supported a declaration of a public health emergency to free up resources.
Some local governments such as those in San Francisco and New York state have already made their own declarations recognizing monkeypox as an “imminent threat” or public emergency within their own jurisdictions.
Despite the challenges that have been encountered in the monkeypox strategy, Plescia opined that the US is still in “a much better situation than I would normally expect us to be with an outbreak like this.”
“In policy circles and policy circles, we often talk about jurisdictional boundaries. A virus like this doesn’t care about those. And so wherever you live, you are only as safe as the community around you. So we really all need to work together to end this outbreak,” Casalotti said.