This Is a Rally for Democratic Vice President Walz in Nebraska, Not a Mass Monkeypox Testing Event

Misbar investigated the circulating video and found the claim to be misleading.

After reverse-searching key frames from the video, Misbar’s team found that it is related to Democratic vice-presidential pick and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Tim Walz’s Nebraska Rally Highlights a Key Swing State

An account named Kamala’s Win posted the video with the caption, "There is an enormous line to get into Tim Walz’s rally in Omaha, Nebraska, today."

Another account on the Reddit platform posted photos from the rally.

On Saturday, August 17, Tim Walz highlighted his Nebraskan heritage during his first visit back to his home state since being selected as the Democratic nominee for vice president.

The first-ever solo presidential campaign event hosted by Walz took place in Nebraska, near the contested Second Congressional District, which includes Omaha.

Monkeypox Outbreak Declared a Public Health Emergency

The monkeypox virus is an Orthopoxvirus that causes mpox (monkeypox). Discovered in 1958, it is part of the same virus family as smallpox and is transmitted from animals—such as squirrels, Gambian pouched rats, dormice, and various monkeys—to humans. The virus was named monkeypox because it was first discovered in monkeys, not because they are the primary source of infections.

Mpox can also spread between humans through close physical contact, including sex, skin-to-skin contact, or being close when talking or breathing.

In 2022, a public health emergency was declared due to the milder Clade 2. Now, the more lethal Clade 1 is rising; past outbreaks of this clade have killed up to 10% of those infected.

First detected in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), mpox was previously declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in July 2022, with the declaration ending in May 2023.

WHO Declares New Mpox Strain in Africa a Health Emergency

Africa is now facing a new strain of the virus, detected in the DRC in September 2023. The current outbreak, driven by a sexually transmissible strain, has significantly increased, surpassing last year’s total with more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths.

Mpox can be severe, with 4% of cases resulting in death, and causes flu-like symptoms and skin sores.

On August 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the recent rise in mpox cases in the DRC and other African countries a public health emergency of international concern. This decision follows recommendations from an International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee, which warned of the virus’s potential to spread further.

Committee Chair Professor Dimie Ogoina said, “The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency not only for Africa but for the entire globe.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mpox cases have been reported in four countries neighboring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda—over the past month, all of which had not previously reported the disease.

There are currently two approved and effective mpox vaccines. Research indicates that immunization for "classic" smallpox is 85% successful in preventing mpox.

The Committee considered that the event “constitutes a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease” and “requires a coordinated international response,” the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee said in its first meeting on August 19, 2024.

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