President Joe Biden is set to name top officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to serve as the White House coordinators to combat the growing monkeypox outbreak.
The White House says Biden will announce Tuesday that he has tapped Robert Fenton, who helped lead FEMA’s mass vaccination effort for COVID-19 when Biden first took office, as the White House coordinator.
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of the CDC will be named his deputy. Daskalakis, the director of the agency’s HIV prevention division and a national expert on issues affecting the LGBTQ community, previously helped lead New York City’s COVID-19 response.
Meantime, California’s governor has declared a state of emergency to speed efforts to combat the monkeypox outbreak. It makes California the second state in three days to take the step.
Nearly 800 cases have been reported in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom said his declaration Monday will help California coordinate a government-wide response.
The move came after a similar declaration in New York state on Saturday, and in San Francisco on Thursday.