Liz Highleyman Profile picture
Jul 7 15 tweets 13 min read
In a June 22 @pozmagazine op-ed, I asked if LGBT & HIV leaders & organizations were doing enough to fight #monkeypox, which is spreading rapidly among gay/bi/trans men. I'm glad to say people in SF are stepping up! 1/
bit.ly/3uqgbf9
I felt like the effort to avoid stigma by not calling it a "gay disease" was overshadowing the need to raise awareness & marshal resources for the community that was -- & still is -- most heavily affected. 2/
CA Senator @Scott_Wiener was among the first elected officials to speak out about the need to do more about #monkeypox -- & he’s also raising awareness about meningitis vaccination for gay & bi men. 3/
New Assembly member @MattHaneySF, @tomtemprano of @EQCA, & @transdistrictsf cofounder (& District 6 supervisor candidate) @honeymahogany are all raising awareness & putting the pressure on. 4/
New @SFAIDSFound CEO @dr_termeer explains why sexual health clinics for gay/bi/trans/MSM are uniquely positioned to offer #monkeypox education, testing & vaccines -- but @strutsf clinic has less than 100 doses. 5/
sfaf.org/collections/st…
Organizers of @comfort_and_joy Afterglow & Electroluxx pre-Pride dance parties & @Steamworks bathhouse in Berkeley have alerted attendees about #monkeypox cases at their venues & told patrons how to seek care. 6/
Since May, Bay Area Reporter (@eBARnews) has published as much #monkeypox coverage as I can throw at them -- & editor @cynlaird did a good editorial this week urging the administration to ramp up #monkeypox testing & vaccination. 7/
ebar.com/story.php?ch=N…
In her @eBARnews editorial, @cynlaird calls for #monkeypox vaccine clinics at events like #UpYourAlley, #FolsomStreetFair, @CastroStFair & Oakland & San Jose #Pride. But that can only happen if the supply expands to meet demand. 8/
.@MonicaGanhdi9, director of SFGH’s Ward 86 #HIV clinic -- & now a leading COVID pundit – is helping get the word out to a larger audience about the need for #monkeypox vaccines. 9/
.@SF_DPH has been forthcoming & always willing to do an interview -- they're as frustrated as the rest of us about shortage of #monkeypox testing & vaccines. Glad to see long-time sexual health advocate @FVStrona leading #monkeypox response team. 10/
ebar.com/story.php?3169…
Commercial labs are coming online with #monkeypox testing & Biden admin is expanding vaccine supply -- but not fast enough. @Prep4All’s @jbKrel says U.S. owns a million finished doses sitting at the factory in Denmark awaiting bureaucratic sign-off. 11/
While things are finally moving in the right direction, there’s still much to do, including ensuring tests & vaccines are accessible to gay/bi/trans/MSM of color – & people in Africa, where #monkeypox has been percolating for decades with little attention from the west. /12
Finally, this 🧵 is probably more advocacy than is appropriate for an “objective” journalist, but…well…I was an ACT UP activist before I was a medical writer. /end
P.S. @SFAIDSFound & @SF_DPH will host a Zoom town hall tomorrow to discuss #monkeypox outbreak among gay/bi/trans/MSM. DPH currently reports 40 cases in SF.
eventbrite.com/e/monkeypox-vi…
@SFAIDSFound @SF_DPH And if you're on the other coast: Monday at 5:30 ET.

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More from @LizHighleyman

Jul 7
Seriously, @washingtonpost? There are many actual #monkeypox experts. Granted it's an opinion piece, but @DrEricDing & @yaneerbaryam are best known as COVID doomers. In May, Bar-Yam projected 300 million people could have MPX in a month -- we're at 7500.
wapo.st/3PgOX2F
Image
The non-endemic outbreak remains largely confined to social/sexual networks of gay/bi/trans/MSM. There have been a small number of cases in women & children -- & there will be more -- but I don't expect rampant transmission within those groups -- the virus will hit "dead ends."
Read 5 tweets
Jul 6
.@UKHSA is putting @CDCgov to shame. We really need demographic info to see how #monkeypox is spreading. Right now it looks like the vast majority of cases in US & other non-endemic countries are gay/bi/trans/MSM. 1/
We know a small number of women have gotten it. But how? Household contact? Sex with bi men? Being caregivers of monkeypox patients? 2/
People will continue to believe they can get #monkeypox via the air & casual contact until health officials provide transmission data to confirm or refute that. 3/
Read 4 tweets
Jul 6
Bad news if #monkeypox can be transmitted without (or before) symptoms. Could explain how it’s spread so rapidly & extensively among gay & bi men. @aidsmap 1/ aidsmap.com/news/jul-2022/…
If #monkeypox is transmissible before symptoms, it should be possible to test for virus — maybe in saliva? — in people without lesions. In this study, testing was done via anal swabs collected to test for other STIs (prior to outbreaks) & retrospectively tested for monkeypox. 2/
This is a small study & not yet peer-reviewed. Good to see people are now doing this kind of research, after the west ignored #monkeypox for decades in Africa. 3/
Read 5 tweets
Jul 6
Organizers of Afterglow & Electroluxx pre-Pride dance parties in SF have alerted attendees about #monkeypox cases at the events. @SF_DPH now reports 40 confirmed or probable cases, up from 16 last week. @electroluxxprty @comfort_and_joy @eBARnews
bit.ly/3bT4iYK
SF DPH's @FVStrona praised party organizers for taking "a really smart, proactive approach" & encourages folks to self-assess their behavior. Those who had close intimate contact may be eligible for vaccines -- but supply is limited, so let those at highest risk go first.
Here's @SF_DPH's #monkeypox website, which includes prevention advice, when to get tested & who is eligible for vaccines.
sf.gov/information/mo…
Read 6 tweets
Jun 8
I think it's irresponsible to report that #monkeypox can be transmitted through aerosols "similar to the coronavirus." This is based on a @CDCgov travel mask recommendation that was up for about a day before they removed it. 1/
Other @CDCgov #monkeypox recommendations don't include masking for the general public. CDC officer Jennifer McQuiston, who's been leading their monkeypox media briefings, says it's not transmitted by non-close contact like passing someone in a grocery store. 2/
And people aren't going to wear masks during sex or other intimate contact -- to its credit, CDC isn't recommending that. 3/
cdc.gov/poxvirus/monke…
Read 8 tweets
Jun 7
SF isn't as politically liberal as its reputation suggests, despite being home to some radical cultural movements over the years. 1/
nym.ag/38VUHiB
SF DA Chesa Boudin gets blamed for things that started before he was in office & that he can't realistically change -- & by some measures crime is actually down -- but people feel like things are getting worse & that's what tomorrow's recall election will come down to. 2/
It's striking to me, the parallels between the COVID cautious on the left & the crime wary on the right -- no one seems to care what the actual data show, it's all about whether people *feel* safe. /end
Read 4 tweets

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