GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to today’s announcement from Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Bacerra, declaring the monkeypox virus (MPV) outbreak a public health emergency in the United States.
The declaration will help mobilize agencies to accelerate access to MPV vaccines and treatments to communities. The announcement follows similar declarations from the World Health Organization, and the governors of California, Illinois, and New York, and mayors of New York and San Francisco.
About 6,600 cases of MPV have been reported in the U.S.; the vast majority are gay and bi men and men who have sex with men. Limited testing capacity and data collection have made it difficult to accurately count and track cases and spread. HHS officials said in a briefing today that the public health emergency declaration will encourage comprehensive data collection to best inform resource distribution and messaging to the public.
STATEMENT FROM SARAH KATE ELLIS, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF GLAAD:
“Monkeypox has been a health emergency for many in the LGBTQ community for months. This fast-moving public health emergency requires every possible effort to escalate equitable delivery and production of MPV vaccines and treatments, coupled with urgent, clear and transparent information for every healthcare provider and every American.”
Ellis also responded on Twitter here.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced the appointments of Robert Fenton and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis as national monkeypox response coordinator and deputy coordinator, respectively. Dr. Daskalakis is a longtime LGBTQ health provider and advocate, who most recently served as the CDC’s Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.
GLAAD’s fact sheet for media covering the MPV outbreak and response: /MPVfacts
