Today, the O’Neill Institute and amfAR are jointly releasing a new brief on monkeypox and meningococcal disease, Monkeypox and Meningoccal Disease Outbreaks Signal New Health Threats for Communities Heavily Impacted by HIV and Demand Immediate Action. There is also an accompanying one-page summary.
This brief adds to growing calls for more urgent action and estimates that U.S. monkeypox diagnoses will approach or top 11,000 by the time the first group of people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated under current two-dose guidelines that indicate full protection (six weeks from first dose). The brief also spotlights a large and growing outbreak of meningococcal disease. Both of these outbreaks are currently concentrated among gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (MSM).
The brief acknowledges significant action from federal leaders, even as it calls for quicker action and more resources. Policy recommendations are offered to bolster the outbreak response, expand the community response capacity, and identify and allocate emergency resources, with a call for an immediate transfer of $100 million, drawn broadly from HHS, to respond more aggressively to curb the scope of both the monkeypox and meningococcal disease outbreaks. The authors also highlight that U.S. domestic responses must take place in the context of stepped up U.S. global leadership.
Time is of the essence. Every day that we do not take such steps is one more day for these crises to grow.
The brief is available at https://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BI-Monkeypox.pdf
The one-page summary is available at https://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BIIB-Monkeypox.pdf
Please share widely with your colleagues. Jeff Crowley and Greg Millett
