The top White House monkeypox doc takes stock of the outbreak — and what's next
The U.S. monkeypox outbreak appears to be slowing.
New infections are starting to decline in some large cities where the virus hit early and spread quickly. And while there's still uncertainty, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently projecting that the outbreak "will most likely continue to grow very slowly" over the next few weeks.
Health officials say it's cause for cautious optimism – but not complacency.
Much of the improvement is being attributed to temporary changes in sexual behavior, and progress is uneven, with new cases rising in some parts of the U.S. and disproportionately affecting certain minority populations, such as Black and Latino men.
The U.S. is relying on a strategy of vaccinating high-risk populations – largely gay and queer people, particularly men who have sex with men in social networks where the virus
