Yet experts say the emphasis on normalizing warnings affects access to the most vulnerable, including black and Latino men, and overshadows the lessons of the AIDS crisis, which highlighted the importance of combating stigma. And Trying to take care of those who need it.
“We don’t want to add stigma to a delicate situation, but then our message gets so broad that no one knows who we’re talking to—and that becomes a real problem,” says Robert Fullilove, clinical Professor of Social Medical Sciences at Columbia University Medical Center told CNN.
What do the initial figures show
Part of the point of talking about monkeypox in an indirect way is that we end up putting more emphasis on who can do get the virus and reduce who does Get it, according to Atlanta-based HIV physician and researcher Melanie Thompson.
Thompson underscored the importance of clarity, of communication that explains where the virus is headed.
“The purpose of the data is not just to crunch numbers – but to ensure that those most affected by monkeypox or any other disease entity are getting essential services,” she said.
“The message that anyone can get monkeypox spreads fear among the general population. It distracts from the message we need to get to people at risk of contracting monkeypox,” Thompson said.
And such convulsions don’t just distract. It’s marginalized in a different way, she said.
“The evidence shows that men who have sex with men are at greater risk than any other population or group,” he said. “So when we talk about directing messages and, most importantly, vaccines, we need to make sure those efforts are intentionally targeting people at highest risk, who People might think, ‘Well, why not get vaccinated? It’s just a good idea.'”
It’s worth underlining that, while most cases of monkeypox occur in black men, it’s not because they’re black, experts say.
Fullilov said, “When we use race as a way of identifying an important characteristic of a sick person, some people think that race is biologically active – something about brown skin. who are more likely to be infected with monkeypox.” “But that’s not the case. What we’re seeing is the dynamic of who hangs out with whom and where they socialize.”
Thompson also inserted a note of caution in the conversation.
“There is no racial propensity for monkeypox,” she said. “It has to do with structural racism and the nature and cultural practices of communities.”
She said that Georgia, for example, is still very different based on race and sexuality.
“This means that people who are black are more likely to have sexual partners who are also black,” Thompson explained. “And because they are a small proportion of the population, the chances of being exposed to the virus are high.”
If there is a silver lining, it is that monkeypox should be easier to prevent and eradicate as we have a more solid understanding of where the bulk of the infections lie.
‘AIDS activism wasn’t just about saying the right thing’
Yet that approach strips the term of some of its complexity.
“AIDS activism was not just about saying the right thing,” he explained. “It was about taking care of those who needed it.”
It’s not meant to downplay the value of a careful, sympathetic message.
Thompson thinks there is a high level of stigma attached to monkeypox. She said physicians are hearing from some patients that they are ashamed of having the virus.
Complicating matters further, he said, is the fact that there are care providers who don’t want to see people with monkeypox – meaning people with the virus have less room to get treated.
“Our politics often boils down to debate over discourse and messaging, divorced from the physical reality of people’s lives,” Royals said. “Not unlike HIV and AIDS, monkeypox has significant physical consequences for your body if you get it. It’s so tangible that it’s deeply ironic that so much of the conversation is focused on discourse, which is districtembodied in many forms.”
(This story has not been edited by seemayo staff and is published from a rss feed)