Los Angeles:
The spread of the monkeypox virus and its prevalence among gay men has led to widespread fear, growing anger and a number of uncomfortable questions for a community still scarred by the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
While there is still widespread public confusion about the exact nature and spread of the disease, the fact is that the vast majority of monkeypox patients in the United States identify as LGBTQ and are male.
For some, the situation evokes dark parallels to the 1980s, when HIV/AIDS was stigmatized as a “gay plague”, hospitals and funeral homes rejected patients and victims, and White House officials either made homophobic jokes or simply ignored the new virus.
At a gathering this week in West Hollywood, a center for Los Angeles’ LGBTQ community, actor Matt Ford received a standing ovation when he spoke openly about the “excruciating” symptoms he had endured when he contracted the disease — a experience he has also had online.
Afterward, he told AFP that he “definitely had doubts before coming out publicly about my experience.”
“I was quite insecure before tweeting because of the potential for social stigma and people being cruel – especially on the internet – but thankfully the response has been mostly positive,” he said.
What prompted Ford to speak out was the urgent need to warn others about the disease in the days leading up to the big LGBTQ Pride celebrations in West Hollywood.
While monkeypox has not been labeled a sexually transmitted disease (STD) to date and can infect anyone, the men most affected currently are men who have sex with men.
The disease spreads through skin-to-skin contact and is most commonly transmitted through sexual activity, and the World Health Organization this week urged gay and bisexual men to limit their sexual partners.
“Ultimately, it’s not homophobic to say that certain groups are disproportionately affected by the monkeypox outbreak,” said Grant Roth, who is part of a network collecting information about the disease in New York.
“And now it’s about the queer community.”
‘Blame’
While the idea that monkeypox primarily affects the LGBTQ community raises fears of homophobia and stigma, it has also sparked anger that the US government isn’t taking the disease seriously enough.
A lack of available vaccines to meet demand has sparked outrage in a country where some 4,900 cases have been detected – more than any other country.
On Thursday, the state of San Francisco and New York declared public health emergencies to bolster efforts to control the spread of monkeypox.
The U.S. Department of Health announced plans to allocate an additional 786,000 doses of vaccine, bringing the supply to over a million, but for many, the response has come too late.
“Why isn’t the government acting as quickly as it should?” asked Jorge Reyes Salinas of Equality California, a coalition of LGTBQ activists and organizations.
“We need more resources, and we need more attention to this issue. It’s not just an LGBTQ issue. It shouldn’t be painted like that.”
The way the health emergency is being handled brings back painful memories, he said.
“I think that will always be a risk in the back of our minds, again because of the HIV and AIDS pandemic.”
Roth said a lot of “blame” has been given to men who have sex with men, when in reality the government “should have secured vaccines earlier and made testing more widely available”.
‘Anxious’
Speaking at the West Hollywood meeting, Andrea Kim, director of the Los Angeles County vaccine program, said a mobile immunization unit against monkeypox will arrive “soon.”
Other speakers outlined measures that the community can take until then to protect itself.
Dan Wohlfeiler, who has worked on HIV and STI prevention for more than three decades, urged people to use the “lessons from Covid” to tackle the spread by temporarily shrinking social circles and creating bubbles, too. for sexual activity.
“This event is another traumatic time for many of us. Hopefully, access to vaccines will increase significantly over the next six to eight weeks,” he said.
“The more steps we take as individuals now to protect ourselves and our partners, the faster we can end this outbreak.”
“I’m proud to belong to this city and to have this opportunity” to learn more about the disease, said a Latina trans woman after the encounter, who asked not to be identified.
“But how can we not be afraid, if we have historically been discriminated against?” she said.
“I hope it will be different this time.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)