THURSDAY, June. 4, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The Biden Administration on Thursday declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, a move intended to dramatically ramp up the fight against the spread of the virus.'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,' U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said during a media briefing on Thursday.