Now, Monkeypox

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As more and more cases rise in Europe and Japan and the emerging virus has already claimed a life in India, it would be downright foolish to not treat monkeypox as a pandemic. The jury is still out on its severity and transmission but buying into conspiracy theories about its origin or target population is not something the world can afford at this stage.
We are three years into the new normal and millions of dollars poured into research have not yet been successful against the coronavirus beast. On numerous occasions, we have kicked the boats out and taken out the brushes to paint the town red over the flattening curve but the rejuvenated vigour of the virus has caught us completely off guard.
Even now when the National Institute of Health dismisses the presence of the new viral scourage in Pakistan, the country is miles away from declaring itself COVID-free. Though the WHO has finally blown the whistle on the new gangster in town, the warning signs have come a few outbreaks late. Why did the agency fail to put breaks on its self-harming pattern is the bigger question here! Instead of jumping to its feet when a disease historically found in West and Central Africa made waves in the UK, it refused to declare a public health emergency until this month.
The rest of the international community is religiously following its instructions, tapping their heart and repeating the mantra “all is well, all is well” over and over again. But clearly, all is not well because going by the European data, almost 10 per cent of the patients have had to be hospitalised for treatment.
Presently, the infections are supposed to be predominantly found among the gay community but just one transition to the general population and all the usual high-risk populations (older adults, the immunocompromised, pregnant women and young children) would be back on the rocks. For now, communication remains the key as governments should not wait for the outbreak to fully blow into a global catastrophe and make people aware of the safety guidelines.
Last time, we waited until the coronavirus lurked in every alley to allocate funds for vaccine strategies. In order to make millions of vaccine doses available before it is too late to push the proverbial genie inside, the entire world needs to join hands. The vaccine inequity saga of the COVID-19 days cannot be allowed to play out once again. This time, the safety and well-being of every human, regardless of their country of origin, should be prioritised.