Is Monkeypox the New COVID-19? A Health Equity Look

The monkeypox virus is a member of the orthopoxviral family, albeit less virulent and infectious as its sibling the smallpox virus. The current 2022 outbreak has become a public health emergency, currently infecting over 9,600 people in the U.S and 30,000 globally. The current outbreak has also disproportionately impacted gay & bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and could further the stigma they face daily. This stigma isolates and delays the delivery of critical healthcare services, if not preventing them altogether. The U.S public health system is overstretched and underfunded, which underscores the anemic response to both COVID and Monkeypox. Health Inequity is the underpinning of the unclear and slow guid...