By Chase W. Drumgoole Cronkite News PHOENIX – LGBTQ activists in Arizona are stepping up efforts to fight stigma and intolerance amid the global outbreak of monkeypox – even as they work to get more people vaccinated against the viral disease, which is contracted through close or intimate contact.
“The richest source of virus can be found in the lesions of monkeypox,” said Grant McFadden, director of the Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy at Arizona State University. “Any physical contact – whether sexual, through clothing or bedding – has the potential to transmit the virus.”
Given that COVID-19 also has disproportionately affected people of color, some worry those most in need of care aren’t getting the help they need. “Ignorance itself is almost its own kind of opportunistic infection, and it will take hold of anyone who’s willing to embrace it,” he said. “It is clear there are subsets of the U.S. population that, for lack of a better word, hate the LGBTQ+ community. So when there’s a new opportunity to say, ‘Hey, look, we can blame this particular community,’ they are going to jump on it.”
“I think we see the stigma attached to monkeypox, not as great as HIV because I think the community, the powers that be, the media have been a little bit more understanding of stigma and queer community.In Phoenix, the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS held a virtual town hall recently to talk about stigma, how to identify symptoms and when and where to get vaccinated. The group encouraged anyone facing backlash to seek therapy and support and to speak out.
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