The Biden administration is attempting once again to concentrate federal power in the name of “public health and safety” as cases of Monkeypox skyrocket.
A public health emergency was declared on Thursday by Joe Biden.
I remain committed to our monkeypox response: ramping-up vaccine distribution, expanding testing, and educating at-risk communities.
That's why today's public health emergency declaration on the virus is critical to confronting this outbreak with the urgency it warrants.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 4, 2022
The federal government is now legally able to issue the Defense of Production Act, contract with private companies, and expands the power of federal health authorities to access, track, and monitor private medical information without the individual’s consent.
The administration has been criticized for stumbling early on in addressing the unusual spread of monkeypox, first in Europe and then throughout the United States starting in mid-May.
Dr. Ashish Jha dodges a question about whether the Biden administration missed an opportunity to "get ahead" of monkeypox:
"We're doing everything at this point possible." pic.twitter.com/fkIiGvD6ud
— The Recount (@therecount) August 5, 2022
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the total number of cases in the U.S. at more than 6,600, primarily among men who have sex with men. Activists for gay and transgender groups have charged the Biden administration with a lack of urgency.
Sounds like the AIDS crisis all over again!
While monkeypox is not airborne like COVID-19 nor as fatal (there have been no deaths in the U.S. yet), it causes severe pain. Monkeypox infection typically causes flu-like symptoms as well as pustules and lesions on the skin of the arms, hands, feet, face, and inside the mouth. But the most recent outbreak has resulted from a spread that more closely resembles a sexually transmitted disease. In most cases, the lesions have appeared in the genital area, making it difficult for doctors to discern whether it is monkeypox or an STD.
California, New York, and Illinois have already declared states of emergency, actions intended to boost supplies of vaccines and free up resources for beating back the outbreak. The Biden administration, well aware of criticisms coming from gay and transgender activists, has ramped up efforts to improve vaccine supplies by approving shipments to the U.S. from the vaccine maker’s facility in Denmark and purchasing roughly 5 million more doses to be delivered by mid-2023.
The White House has also convened a group of public health officials dedicated to addressing the monkeypox outbreak. The administration announced on Tuesday that it appointed Robert Fenton, a regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to serve as the White House monkeypox coordinator.
I’m proud to name FEMA’s Robert Fenton as the White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis as his Deputy.
Together, they have over four decades of experience in emergency response and public health, including COVID response and HIV prevention.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 2, 2022
When will people realize that it isn’t the job of governments to provide you with individualized medical treatment, nor is it their duty to act as the guiding light in your private life. Take responsibility for you own health, mitigate the risks if you happen to be a gay man, and stop relying on the feds!
Author:Â Asa McCue
