Health officials caught an early break: An existing two-dose vaccine named Jynneos, developed to fight smallpox, was also approved for use against the monkeypox.
Some in the public health community worried that it was a big decision based on a small amount of research — a single 2015 study. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since then has confirmed there was“They got criticized for the revised dosing strategy, but it was the right call," said Frieden, who is currently president of Resolve to Save Lives, a non-profit organization focused on preventing epidemics.
“The success was really due to grassroots activities,” said Amira Roess, a George Mason University professor of epidemiology and global health. Leaders in the gay community “took it upon themselves to step in when the government response was really lacking” in a way that recalled what happened during the plodding government response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, she said.
Changing the name of infectious diseases unnecessarily confuses people.
Reports of Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, have dropped over 85% since August 2022, but it’s not clear who deserves the credit. Experts say the solution came down to multiple factors.