The current monkeypox outbreak is almost entirely occurring through men having sex with men.
No, you “be better.” In fact, about 95% of cases in the current outbreak appear to have arisen through sexual transmission, according to a study in the NEJM. That’s why about 99% of cases globally outside Africa have been in men. https://t.co/LHBoZ7Eant https://t.co/PMT8uaQiXU
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) August 5, 2022
But many in the media and the public health establishment are dedicated to disguising that fact.
Commentator Josh Barro has been documenting this bizarre, dishonest, and likely harmful tendency.
Oregon Public Radio asks a “senior advisor” at the Oregon Health Authority what people can do to address their risk of getting monkeypox. In response, he doesn’t say the word “sex” once. So much of our ‘public health’ bureaucracy is absolutely terrible. https://t.co/hQZzdpyIgS pic.twitter.com/M8rM1Ze8v8
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) August 8, 2022
The Daily Mail posted a graphic on “How to Have Sex if You Have Monkeypox.”
How to have SEX with monkeypox: @CDCgov releases bizarre guide telling patients to ‘keep their clothes on’ or ‘masturbate six feet from their partner’ if the urge arises while infectedhttps://t.co/TqTbOQNs26 via @MailOnline
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) June 17, 2022
It includes three heterosexual couples, one woman having “virtual sex” with a person of unknown gender, and no same-sex couples. Setting aside the primary means of this virus’s transmission, it’s kind of shocking in an age of representation and inclusivity to exclude gay men from this graphic deliberately.
Everywhere you look, you see media outlets, health experts, and public officials pretending that this disease is not primarily spread through gay sex.
Health Secretary Xavier Becerra also tried to make it sound like everyone is at high risk of getting the monkeypox.
It is not necessary for “every American” to take the Monkeypox outbreak seriously, as Becerra asks. We need HHS and the agencies it oversees to take it seriously, which includes being clear about which specific demographics are at risk and through what channels. https://t.co/5M7KniGcNq
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) August 4, 2022
Shooting down strawmen is the main tactic here.
Reuters ran a “fact check” quoting an infectious disease expert saying, “Viruses do not care about your sexual orientation or the type of sex you have. … They care about a host that is susceptible to infection and the optimal conditions for transmission.”
This reads like language explicitly designed to deceive the reader. Of course viruses “don’t care” about your sexual orientation. Viruses don’t care about anything. You could just as aptly say COVID “doesn’t care if you are old, if you are in a crowded bar, if prevalence in your community is high, if you were previously infected, or if you are vaccinated.”
Nobody said the virus cares about your sexual orientation. What needs to be said is that monkeypox is mostly spread by men having sex with infected men. Why does that need to be said? Because (a) the behavior modification that can slow the spread and protect a person is to not have gay sex with men who might be infected; and (b) the people who need the vaccine the most are sexually active gay men.
This “fact check” and the experts it quotes are efforts to mislead the public on the nature of the outbreak.
Reuters explains that they are worried about “stigma.” That is, they are afraid that if they admit that male-on-male sex is the primary vector of this outbreak, it will lead to discrimination against gay men. Of course, if any gay men fall for this coverage, those gay men will be more vulnerable because they won’t understand the centrality of gay sex in this outbreak.
Once again, our news media and public health experts decide that honesty, clarity, and public health take a back seat to culture war and politics.
