Biden doesn't think U.S. will need monkeypox quarantines, but 'people should be careful'

President Biden said Monday he does not believe quarantines will be needed to stop the spread of monkeypox, The Washington Post reports.

As for any big outbreaks, Biden said he thinks the U.S. has enough of the smallpox vaccine to "deal with the likelihood of the problem."

Belgium is now the first country to impose a quarantine on residents, requiring those infected with monkeypox to isolate for 21 days. The World Health Organization has detected the virus in at least a dozen countries in which it is not typically endemic, the Post notes.

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"I just don't think it rises to the level of the kind of concern that existed with COVID-19, and the smallpox vaccine works for it. But, I think people should be careful," Biden added Monday. Studies indicate the smallpox vaccine is at least 85 percent effective against monkeypox, the Post reports, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Sunday, Biden said monkeypox is a "concern in that if it were to spread, it would be consequential."