The U.S. government declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency on Thursday, a move intended to hasten the production and distribution of vaccines and treatments for an illness that has infected nearly 6,700 people in the United States. Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said that “we’re prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and to take responsibility to help us tackle this virus.” First detected in the United States nearly three months ago, the monkeypox outbreak has almost exclusively affected men who have sex with men, many of whom have criticized the halting and even chaotic release of vaccine doses. The emergency declaration, the first issued since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, will loosen some of the bureaucratic red tape that has hampered treatment efforts by physicians, as well as information sharing about the extent of the outbreak, said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Wolensky. “This declaration will also help us continue to expand public health ability to expedite data sharing so that we can have comprehensive and timely data available to inform public health decisions.”