Update on Monkeypox – A New FYI Video

 WatchExit Disclaimer the July 18 FYI video and read (PDF, 149KB) the full transcript on HIV.gov.

The videoExit Disclaimer features Kaye Hayes, MPA, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infectious Disease and the Director of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP), and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH, Director of the Division of HIV Prevention at CDC. They discuss for a second time how monkeypox is important to all of us, as well as the importance of awareness of the disease that’s guided by science and avoiding stigma.

CDC recently launched a new Monkeypox and HIV resource with the latest information on monkeypox and the likelihood of severe illness, treatment, prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effectiveness, and more.

Monkeypox disease can affect any population of people, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, although current cases in the United States are occurring in larger numbers among gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men.

In the video’s closing message from Harold Phillips, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), he highlighted that the Biden-Harris Administration will “continue to ensure a whole of government response and will lead the government in adapting our response as the situation evolves.”

Also, Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D., the Associate Director for AIDS Research and the Director of the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spoke separately with HIV.gov and shared: “The National Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research endorses the position of the CDC, OIDP, and ONAP to emphasize the importance of non-stigmatizing language and practices to ensure equitable and responsive public health action related to the monkeypox outbreak in the United States and globally. The NIH OAR reiterates that anyone with exposure to monkeypox virus can become infected in the United States or abroad, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. For persons with HIV or at risk of HIV acquisition, the initiation and adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART) and PrEP are critical, regardless of monkeypox virus exposure.”

For more resources, read the White House’s update on Monkeypox Research and the first blog in the FYI series about monkeypox.