https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/dont-say-mpox-florida-poised-to-be-the-us-epicenter-of-the-viral-outbreak-this-hot-gay-summer/ar-AA1cBIugQuote:
Gay and bi men in some counties in Florida may be at greater risk of a resurgence in mpox (formerly known as monkeypox). It appears that only a minority of gay men in the state received both doses of the mpox vaccine.
Since the mpox outbreak of last summer, 30,000 people in the US have been diagnosed with the infection, with the majority of infections among gay and bi men. There have been around 40 deaths. Just over half of those were in people with advanced HIV and compromised immune systems.
In recent weeks, there have been concerns of a resurgence in the disease. Chicago has seen more cases in recent weeks than it did in the first three months of the year. Health experts believe the warmer weather and the socializing that accompanies Pride season could see increases elsewhere.
Recent CDC data highlighted the 15 counties across the US that have low vaccination rates. Topping the list was Duval County in Florida. Three other Florida counties also make the top 15.
In Duval, only 6% of men who have sex with men report getting either one or both doses of the vaccine. This makes it around 57% likely another outbreak may occur, according to the CDC. That's higher than anywhere else in the US.
Following this, Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties both have a 52% risk of outbreaks, while Pinellas has 48%. In Hillsborough and Palm Beach, only around 15% of the local gay male population is vaccinated.
Florida has had over 3,000 of the 30,000 mpox cases in the US. Its low vaccination rate may have something to do with the state administration's attitude toward vaccination and wider gay health issues. Last August, Governor Ron DeSantis downplayed the ramifications of the mpox outbreak sweeping the US.
"I am so sick of politicians, and we saw this with Covid, trying to sow fear into the population," DeSantis said during a press conference near Orlando. "We're not doing fear."
Of course they're going to blame DeSantis for an uptick in monkeypox cases, not the fact that it spreads due to guys who are extremely promiscuous and banging countless other guys.. It is not an airborne virus like the WuFlu or a mosquito spread disease like Yellow Fever.
"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill