Government watchdog critical of federal mpox response

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report that the Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) response to the 2022 mpox outbreak was uncoordinated and lacked interagency cohesion.

For its report, the GAO visited 14 U.S. jurisdictions including Los Angeles, Miami Dade County, Atlanta, Chicago and New York City. The agency also interviewed nongovernmental stakeholders and reviewed the actions HHS took in response to previous GAO recommendations.

The...