Biden says monkeypox cases something to ‘be concerned about’

President Biden said the increasing spread of monkeypox, which has been detected in the United States and Europe, is something “to be concerned about.”

Biden was asked during a stop in South Korea on Sunday what his health advisers have been telling him about the disease that rarely spreads beyond Africa.

“They haven’t told me the level of exposure yet, but it is something that everybody should be concerned about,” he told reporters at Osan Air Base before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Japan.

“We’re working on it hard to figure out what we do and what vaccine, if any, may be available for it,” he continued. “But it is a concern in the sense that if it were to spread, it’s consequential.”

Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the US is prepared and has a supply of “vaccine that is relevant to treating monkeypox.”

“We have vaccine available to be deployed for that purpose,” Sullivan told reporters aboard the flight to Japan. He said the president continues to be updated regularly on any developments by his health team.