Local public health and elected officials today announced the declaration of a local health emergency to respond to monkeypox in the San Diego region.

The action does not indicate that San Diegans are at higher risk of contracting the virus, but it is meant to reassure the public that local health authorities are proactively working to stay ahead of any challenges that may arise. The local health emergency must be ratified in 7 days, by the County Board of Supervisors, and then will need to be ratified again every 30 days, as needed.

“Our County has taken monkeypox very seriously from the beginning and those efforts will continue,” said Chairperson Nathan Fletcher, County Board of Supervisors, who was joined by other elected officials to announce the declaration. “Today, the County is declaring a local health emergency for monkeypox to align our efforts with the approach taken by the State of California. This will also allow us to strengthen our County’s vaccination, prevention, education and treatment initiatives.”

The declaration of the emergency empowers the County to:

• more effectively respond to monkeypox
• seek and utilize state resources for vaccine administration
• leverage the public health infrastructure related to testing, contact tracing and case investigation, as well as community outreach and engagement
• ensure that the County’s health professionals and other local stakeholders have all the necessary tools at their disposal

“All of these strategies were developed and strengthened during the COVID-19 response,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “To prevent the community-wide spread of monkeypox infection, the key is prevention, and this include vaccinations.”

The County has already taken multiple actions to deal with this emerging threat. It has been working with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community to develop messaging, education materials and to administer the limited number of vaccines coming to the area. The County has also been communicating with other local jurisdictions and community organizations.

The County has conducted a forum, mass…