White House expected to name monkeypox coordinator

By Kaitlan Collins, CNN

The White House is working on naming a monkeypox coordinator, two sources familiar with the internal discussions say, but has not yet settled on an individual to help coordinate the federal government’s response to the outbreak.

The decision to name a coordinator comes two months after the United States’ first monkeypox case was confirmed. In that time, the total number of cases in the US has risen to about 2,900.

The Washington Post first reported the internal discussions.

Over the weekend, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.

So far, monkeypox has not been declared a public health emergency in the United States. US health officials said over the weekend that the United States is still assessing the situation. US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Saturday the US is “determined to accelerate our response in the days ahead.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.