The U.S. federal government has not learned anything from the recent coronavirus pandemic and the 1980s AIDS epidemic with their response to the emergence of the monkeypox, now referred to as Mpox, virus across the country.
One major fumble in the U.S.’s handling of the Mpox outbreak has been letting 20 million vaccines expire, according to an Aug. 1 New York Times Article, when they could have gone to countries where the disease is endemic which would have prevented its spread.
This is indicative of a wider issue in how the U.S. handles viral outbreaks, it doesn’t take a global view. We don’t really care about it until it is on our doorstep, and even then the response is seriously lacking.
The U.S. has a long painful history of not taking health crises seriously, especially when those being affected are viewed as “undesirables” including the treatment of the LGBTQ community during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
The response to the AIDS epidemic was nothing less than criminal. According to statistics from Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there were more than 100,000 deaths from AIDS from 1980 to 1991.
When AIDS first started spreading in the ‘80s, it was treated as a joke by the Reagan administration. The short documentary “When AIDS Was Funny” by Scott Calonico includes audio of the White House press corps laughing when journalist Lester Kinsolving asks a question about AIDS.
The CDC’s guidance surrounding COVID was frustrating and confusing. Regulations regarding mask mandates, social distancing protocols and even the amount of time that individuals may be contagious have been in constant flux throughout the entirety of the pandemic.
Messaging at the initial onset of the pandemic failed to properly inform citizens of how to prevent the spread of the virus. Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the CDC, rebuked the agency’s handling of the pandemic, specifically the rollout of the information and testing, according to a *insert date New York Times Article.
How can we trust a government with a past of mishandling disease outbreaks? This is still a major concern regarding the government’s response to Mpox.
While it is true that around 94% of cases in the U.S. are gay, bisexual, transgender men and women, and other men who have sex with men, the CDC’s limited messaging that only addresses the LGBTQ community could stigmatize the community surrounding the disease.
Direct messaging about Mpox is important to reach those most likely to catch it, health officials however need to balance direction while not inadvertently turning Mpox into a “gay disease”.
Labeling Mpox as a “gay disease” implies that only gay people can catch it.
The CDC treating Mpox as being solely spread by the LGBTQ community is dangerous, the public labelling Mpox as a “gay disease” can cause reluctance for treatments and prevention like in the AIDS epidemic.
It can also lead to the idea that Mpox is purely a sexually transmitted disease (STD), when the disease can be spread by any close contact with someone infected, including sharing blankets according to the CDC.
I understand the need for disseminating information to those most likely to become infected, but there needs to be a balance. If public health communication was a tightrope, officials would have fallen off a long time ago.
Mixed messaging around Mpox has caused misinformation to spread, Republican Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shared a clip of CDC director Walensky writing, “If Monkeypox is a sexually transmitted disease, why are kids getting it?” in a July 23 tweet. Implications like Greene’s, are extremely dangerous because they contribute to the myth that all gay men are pedophiles while ignoring the multiple ways Mpox can be spread.
There have been some smart decisions around the response to Mpox. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fractional dosing for the Mpox vaccine making a single vial stretch from one dose to five.
Fractional dosing is the practice of taking a small amount of a vaccine and injecting it subdermally, under the skin, in order to create a greater immune response according to an Aug. 9 Healio article.
By applying fractional dosing, health departments are able to stretch the much needed vaccine and help meet demand.
However, even this isn’t a perfect solution. In theory health workers could get five doses from a vial, however,many are only about to get about three to four doses out of a vial, according to a Tuesday STAT article.
The Santa Clara County Health Department said that it was also going to use fractional dosing, according to a Friday ABC7 news article.
While it is less common, Mpox can be transmitted through sharing bedding or towels with someone who is infected. Why isn’t there more public concern of it being spread through communal living spaces which will impact college students?
These situations can cause Mpox to spread like wildfire. Why isn’t it being more widely addressed? Health officials are hyper focused on just addressing Mpox as an STD despite there being so many ways it can spread.
Public health needs to be ever-evolving, if we do not learn from our past mistakes we are doomed to repeat them. Hopefully, we learn from the mistakes we are making now.
