Monkeypox has health officials repeating their COVID-19 mistakes
This article features Government Accountability Project’s whistleblower client, Dr. Don Weiss, and was originally published here.
It’s a virus with a different name, different symptoms, and different forms of transmission.
Yet as monkeypox spreads, we find ourselves mired in the same mess of mixed signals, contradictory advice, and unclear — sometimes even incorrect — messaging we saw early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why can’t medical authorities speak honestly and directly about new viruses that impact us — and how we can best protect ourselves?
With COVID, some early stumbles could be explained by the virus being previously unknown. But monkeypox, though new to many, is very familiar to scientists and physicians. It’s hard to understand why they couldn’t get this right from the beginning. Why couldn’t they clearly explain who was more likely to be infected, under what circumstances, and what anyone should do differently?
Instead, we face another public health emergency with rising case numbers — above 2,500 in New York State and more than 50 on Long Island — a limited vaccine supply, and a lack of clear direction and advice.
Now, the effort to get more vaccine doses out of a vial adds another layer of uncertainty.
Making matters worse is the stigma looming over the monkeypox conversation, a stigma all too familiar from the not-so-distant memory of the AIDS crisis.
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