Category Archives: Monkeypox

More monkeypox jabs arrive in Australia to boost vaccination rate ahead of WorldPride events

Posted on by

New advertising campaign encourages those at higher risk of infection ‘to look out for symptoms and get vaccinated if eligible’

The federal government has launched a new national advertising campaign to promote monkeypox vaccination to a “post-Covid and vaccine-fatigued audience”.

The health minister, Mark Butler, will also announce on Monday that a second shipment of almost 40,000 vials of the monkeypox vaccine Jynneos has arrived in Australia and will be made available through the states and territories.

Sign up for our free morning and afternoon email newsletters from Guardian Australia for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Monkeypox: don’t touch foreigners, says China health chief, as first case reported

Posted on by

Official Wu Zunyou also called for people to avoid ‘skin-to-skin contact’ with those who had been abroad recently, as well as ‘strangers’

A senior Chinese health official has advised people to avoid physical contact with foreigners to prevent possible monkeypox infection after the first known case of the virus on mainland China was reported on Friday.

“To prevent possible monkeypox infection and as part of our healthy lifestyle, it is recommended that 1) you do not have direct skin-to-skin contact with foreigners,” Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted on his official Weibo page on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Monkeypox cases appear to be declining in some large US cities

Posted on by

Experts say the trend in New York, Chicago and San Francisco appears to be linked to immunity and behavior changes

Monkeypox cases in some large US cities appear to be declining, matching trends seen in Europe, and experts are cautiously optimistic the outbreak may have peaked in places hit hardest by the virus.

The optimism comes just as US officials on Friday said there’s enough of a supply of monkeypox vaccine available now – though the shots aren’t getting to some of the people who need the protection the most.

Continue reading...

NSW detects first locally acquired cases of monkeypox amid concerns about vaccine shortage

Posted on by

Health authorities are urging the public to remain ‘vigilant’ for symptoms as the state recorded three cases of community transmission on Sunday

The first locally acquired cases of monkeypox have been detected in New South Wales, placing health authorities on alert amid a global vaccine shortage.

The state recorded three additional cases of monkeypox on Sunday, bringing the total caseload to 42. They included one case that acquired their infection in NSW and two cases that picked up the virus “within Australia”.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

AT&T workers fight return to office push: ‘We can do the same job from home’

Posted on by

Long commutes to and from work, exorbitant childcare costs, ongoing concerns over exposure to Covid cited

The Covid-19 pandemic sent millions of workers in the US from working in offices to working remotely. As unemployment benefits ended, vaccines rolled out, and reopenings expanded, employers and commercial real estate groups have been pushing to try to get workers back into offices.

But the pandemic further exposed the issues in returning to office, from long commutes to and from work, exorbitant childcare costs, ongoing concerns over exposure to Covid-19 variants and now Monkeypox, workers are pushing to keep working from home as an option as employers force a return to the office.

Continue reading...

At least 89 Covid deaths; Littleproud tells Nationals he’ll bring pragmatic policies to jobs summit – as it happened

Posted on by

Nationals leader outlines vision for party at federal council meeting. This blog is now closed

White whale calf seen off NSW coast

There’s one newborn hogging all the attention off the NSW coast – a southern right whale calf born whiter than usual, AAP reports:

Southern right whales are mostly very dark, although some have splashes of white called a blaze.

Its white areas will darken to grey as it ages. It’s one of around one-in-30 southern right whale calves born with brindle colouring.

Continue reading...

WHO stresses monkeypox surge not linked to monkeys amid attack reports

Posted on by

World Health Organization issues statement after reports of animals being poisoned in Brazil

The World Health Organization has stressed that monkeypox outbreaks are not linked to monkeys, following a number of reported attacks on the primates in Brazil.

“What people need to know is that the transmission we are seeing is happening between humans,” a WHO spokesperson, Margaret Harris, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Biden administration declares monkeypox a public health emergency

Posted on by

Move will trigger extra resources and other measures to combat virus as health secretary urges ‘every American to take it seriously’

The Biden administration has declared the US monkeypox outbreak a national public health emergency which will trigger extra resources and other measures aimed at combatting the virus.

During a news briefing with reporters Xavier Becerra, the health secretary, said: “We’re prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously.”

Continue reading...

Australia secures 450,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine

Posted on by

Jab will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay and bisexual men – especially those who travel

The Australian government has bought 450,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, including 22,000 that will arrive this week and next.

The third-generation Bavarian-Nordic vaccine will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, especially those travelling to countries with a significant outbreak.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

New Zealand unable to say when monkeypox vaccines will arrive

Posted on by

As global demand for monkeypox vaccine surges, health officials say they are stuck in the queue and don’t know when jabs will be available

New Zealand health officials have revealed they are stuck in the queue to order monkeypox vaccine and are unsure when it will arrive.

Monkeypox cases continue to rise globally – more than 23,000 people in at least 75 countries have caught the virus. New Zealand confirmed a third case this week.

Continue reading...

New York City declares monkeypox a public health emergency

Posted on by

Mayor Eric Adams says as many as 150,000 city residents could be at risk of infection and that authorities are working to get more vaccine doses

Officials in New York City declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the monkeypox virus on Saturday, calling the city “the epicenter” of the outbreak.

The announcement by the mayor, Eric Adams, and the health commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, said as many as 150,000 city residents could be at risk of infection. The declaration will allow officials to issue emergency orders under the city health code and implement measures to help slow the spread.

Continue reading...

Spain reports second death related to monkeypox

Posted on by

Announcement comes day after report of first such death in Europe as health ministry says 4,298 cases confirmed in country

Spain reported its second monkeypox-related death on Saturday, in what is thought to be Europe’s second death from the disease in the current outbreak.

Spain reported its first death on Friday, shortly after Brazil reported the first monkeypox-related death outside Africa in the current wave of the disease.

Continue reading...

‘I’m one of the lucky ones’: vaccines scarce as US monkeypox cases rise

Posted on by

The US has nearly 5,000 confirmed cases of the virus, but getting vaccinated has not always been straightforward

For 67-year-old Peter Madero, getting a monkeypox vaccination from the Chelsea sexual health clinic in Manhattan on Friday was a matter of staying protected amid increasing cases of virus as it spreads across the country and world.

But Madero admits that he was “one of the lucky ones”, successfully securing a vaccine after a month of waiting.

Continue reading...

Spain reports first death in Europe related to monkeypox outbreak

Posted on by

Announcement on Friday follows report hours earlier from Brazil of first such death outside Africa

Spain has reported what is thought to be Europe’s first monkeypox-related death in the current outbreak of the disease.

Brazil reported earlier on Friday the first monkeypox-related death outside Africa in the current wave.

Continue reading...

Thai researchers test wastewater to track spread of monkeypox

Posted on by

Monitoring sewage thought to be a quicker, more cost-effective way to understand the spread of the virus

Researchers in Thailand are examining wastewater for signs of monkeypox, as part of surveillance efforts to detect the spread of the virus.

Academics from Naresuan University, in Phitsanulok province, northern Thailand, began testing sewage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport in May, adopting a technique that has also been used to track the spread of Covid-19.

Continue reading...

UK needs urgent vaccine drive to curb monkeypox, campaigners say

Posted on by

Terrence Higgins Trust says action must be stepped up to prevent disease becoming endemic

Health authorities are underestimating the scale of the response required to stop monkeypox becoming endemic in the UK, sexual health campaigners have warned, as a new vaccination drive is launched.

The Terrence Higgins Trust urged the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to urgently pump cash into the system to pay more healthcare workers to administer vaccines. It also wants the number of doses ordered to be doubled to protect against a virus that has infected at least 2,208 people in the UK, according to the latest official figures.

Continue reading...

End of rapid Covid test and telehealth subsidies criticised – as it happened

Posted on by

Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed

A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.

Continue reading...

Fears two monkeypox cases were transmitted locally and could mark spread of disease in Australia

Posted on by

NSW has confirmed 11 cases and health authorities are urging people to be aware of symptoms

Monkeypox may be spreading in Australia after New South Wales found infections among the state’s 11 confirmed cases that could have been transmitted locally.

NSW Health says nine of the infections were probably acquired overseas but two may be local cases, which suggests community transmission could be occurring, especially among men who have sex with men.

Continue reading...

CDC activates emergency operations unit for monkeypox

Posted on by

The move signals the initial stages of a public health concern as 306 cases of the virus have been recorded in the US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has activated an emergency operations unit for monkeypox that signals the initial stages of a public health concern.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC), was activated on Tuesday to boost operational support for addressing a monkeypox outbreak.

Continue reading...

US ramping up monkey pox vaccine distribution to slow down spread

Posted on by

The government will expand access to and increase supply of two different formulations to contain the infection

The US government is ramping up efforts to staunch the spread of monkeypox by sending hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses to states in the coming months, expanding access for those most at risk and increasing supply to areas with high case numbers.

The plan, announced on Tuesday, involves rapidly expanding access to doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine – which has so far been limited – to prevent monkeypox in areas with the highest transmission and need.

Continue reading...