Monkeypox steals Covid 19's social media spotlight

Scrolling through social media it’s almost impossible to avoid the chatter surrounding Monkeypox, the new virus spreading from country to country almost as fast as the spread of memes about it across Instagram and Twitter. With all of the noise, it might be hard to see news updates such as the recent emergency approval of intradermal injection of the Jynneos vaccine.

Lucky for you, we have weeded out the jokers from the professionals to provide you with a clear picture of what the medical society is saying about the unusually named virus.

Monkeypox has been spreading rapidly since May 6, with the WHO Director-General declaring the global outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on July 23.?

There are currently only a few existing therapeutics used for the prevention and treatment of the zoonotic disease named for its original carrier:

-???????2 vaccines, ACAM2000 and Jynneos, which were used for smallpox, are being used around the world as many governments built up stockpiles again over fear of bioterrorism. The US has been using Jynneos to vaccinate their population, but currently faces low stock and slow output concerns. To combat these issues, the FDA has issued an emergency use authorization of intradermal injection, allowing providers to use one-fifth the standard dose size. The EUA also approves subcutaneous injection for individuals under 18 considered high risk for infection.

-???????2 antiviral drugs, the first, TPOXX (tecovirimat) was approved for the treatment of smallpox in the US and recently for monkeypox in Europe. The antiviral is set to undergo clinical trials according to its manufacturer Siga. TEMBEXA (brincidofovir) is the second, which has shown more toxicity than Tpoxx.

This article gives highlights of what we have observed on key Social Media platforms regarding therapeutics addressing the disease since the start of its outbreak in May.

The overall pattern of engagement around said therapeutics is conducted in two waves. An initial signal at the early beginning of the outbreak and a subsequent one at the same time as the recent WHO meeting regarding the outbreak and the initiation of the vaccination campaigns.

Early discussions on Twitter, for instance, were focused on Tpoxx (tecovirimat), however, we can see Imvamune/Jynneos is now leading in engagement. Meanwhile, ACAM2000 is almost absent in comparison as the drug carries severe side effects and administration issues.

Over the last month, the antivirals and vaccines have climbed to the top of therapeutics in share of voice within social media platforms, coming in head-to-head with Covid therapeutics. More precisely, if the much-talked-about Paxlovid remains the therapeutic earning the most comments, Monkeypox treatments Tpoxx and Jynneos will fall right behind at number two and three, respectively.

Approval of these treatments remains the topic of discussion, with the efficacy and safety balance also earning much interest.

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During the first wave, information was primarily about available treatment and the sharing of older news releases and medical publications around those medications.

More recently, we have been observing growing concerns regarding the availability of vaccine doses along with antiviral prescription hurdles. We have found that most users have been exchanging predominately through newspaper articles.

Simultaneously with availability worries, medical experts are raising concern by questioning the 85% efficacy, with assumptions based from a small, 'weak' 1988 Study.

As the epidemic progresses and the constraint around available therapeutic options continues, we are beginning to observe a similar approach around drug repurposing that we saw during the early Covid-19 period. For instance, the dissemination of preprint of treatments similar to the Covid option Monulpiravir and the treatment against malaria.

And just like that, you have all the information you need without wasting time sorting through needless opinions and questionable memes. This timesaving article has been produced for you by using data generated by Lend-Rx Tech, available through our Doltracker platform. For more details on the platform, feel free to shoot us a message.