The Time to Act on Monkeypox is Now

Dear Elected, Health Care, Public Health and Community Officials:

It’s time to wake up.?We all promised we would be ready for the next pandemic. We thought it would be years away. It’s not.?It’s here, now. And we need to act, now.

Monkeypox (MPX) is here. Although at this point, it is not as widespread nor as lethal as COVID, it requires immediate public health action. The number of reported cases in the U.S. is nearing 2,000, with cases doubling nearly every five days. At this rate, we could see upwards of 1 million cases by Labor Day!

The agenda is simple, effective, and if immediate action is taken, has the chance to save thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of people from MPX as well as save our health care system — which many believe is on the brink of catastrophe. Here’s the agenda:

1.)???Raising Awareness.? If you are a Governor and you have not said the word “Monkeypox,” if you are a Health Department and you have not used social media to educate the public, if you are a health care provider and have not educated other providers and your patients, you have work to do. Start saying and educating people about Monkeypox!

2.)???Coordinated Response. Siloed, internal responses are simply not enough, nor is limited engagement with communities impacted by MPX. Patients and people at risk of contracting MPX need to be invited to the table. Giving them a seat isn’t enough, make sure they belong as a full participant in all decisions is critical to a planned response.

3.)???Funding and Resources.? More than 24 months ago, we mobilized national and multistate public health responses to combat COVID with too few resources and too little money to rapidly bend the curve in infection and mortality rates. When resources and funds arrived, it was far too late.?It’s time to invest, now, in stopping the MPX pandemic. Education, testing, contact tracing, vaccination (beyond just the medicine) and treatment need to be fully funded and available on demand to stop the MPX outbreak.

4.)???Vaccination.? We need to provide accurate information and combat misinformation from the beginning to overcome vaccine hesitancy and increase engagement among those impacted. We need shots in arms. To date, the state of Missouri has been allotted roughly 20 vaccines.?Seriously, in a global outbreak of MPX and a state of more than 6 million people, only 20 vaccines? In other states that have been allotted vaccines, shipments have not been received or deployed, stalling the rollout while MPX continues to spread. If you are a member of the Biden Administration, you need to do better. If you are a member of Congress, you need to demand better. We need vaccines delivered and shots in arms. Now.

We have seen this movie before. We have learned these lessons. President Reagan refused to say the word “AIDS” until 1987 while HIV infections skyrocketed. AIDS activists scaled the FDA building to get a seat at the table as death rates soared. Lack of funding fueled the early spread of COVID; vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, along with its slow rollout, caused needless suffering and death. We can and must do better.

Another pandemic lesson comes to mind.?Pandemics disproportionally affect some communities.?With HIV and COVID it has been the LGBTQIA+, African American and Hispanic/Latino communities.?MPX will likely disproportionately affect certain communities.?We cannot let who is more affected by the pandemic influence how we respond in any way.

The final lessons of COVID are applicable to MPX – our current knowledge will be augmented as we learn more, and the virus may likely to mutate. We need to remain agile and change course as knowledge comes forward and as mutations occur.

Vivent Health, along with our community providers and patients across the country, stands ready to be your partner. Many thanks to elected, health care, public health, and community officials who have provided strong leadership – now is the time for everyone else to join.

Let’s Make MPX History.