Monkeypox. It’s the new COVID-19. The cases are starting to collect more and more in the state of Washington and that’s no good. Even health officials are starting to freak out, as the corona vaccine in itself is starting to run low. In this case, the United States decidedly is calling a public health emergency on this freak outbreak. Why?

Because now 166 people are testing positive for orthopoxvirus. And as you may not know, all orthopoxvirus cases are actually monkeypox. This is according to state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah. He made it known about it all during a news briefing on Thursday. In which case, it involves two people at the very least. They were decidedly revealed to the monkeypox virus and therefore tested positive over here.

Just about 144 of the cases had been reported in King County. That happens to be the most populous part of Washington. Mostly everyone who tests positive over there in King County in Central Seattle. The state Department of Health is very spooked by monkeypox and orthopoxvirus and is convinced that others had caught.

There have been seven cases that were confirmed in Pierce County and three more in Clark County. Two respectively in Kitsap counties and Snohomish.

The majority of cases are really with men who’ve had sexual or close intimacy with other men. So there’s a likelihood that it won’t affect everyone. Shah says that it’s still a human disease and doesn’t necessarily mean it’s limited to any community. The individuals that are stigmatized just don’t feel comfortable seeking care. Statistics that about 6,800 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine has been sent out and approved by the US FDA for prevention of all poxes in adults. Such a number is reflective of around 96% of the state’s first couple of rounds of federal allocation, according to Michele Roberts, the DOH assistant secretary for health and prevention.

However, there aren’t enough doses to let everyone down from being at high risk. In which case the vaccine eligibility remains limited to them with confirmed monkeypox infections.

This is all very scary stuff as we can all be at risk of this new virus someday. It’s a likelihood that we didn’t predict with COVID-19 so should we anticipate it with this? Who really can be for sure on that instance? Monkeypox could be a killer for the ages, for all we know.