Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
      • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued abortion isn’t an economic issue. But is that true?

        Chabeli Carrazana · May 4
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • The 19th Explains: Why the nursing shortage isn’t going away anytime soon

        Mariel Padilla · September 23
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

A Medical Reserve Corps volunteer administers a monkeypox vaccination to a Los Angeles resident in a park.
A Medical Reserve Corps volunteer administers a monkeypox vaccination to a Los Angeles resident in August 2022. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)

Health

Experts debunk monkeypox myths as misinformation spreads

Can monkeypox spread on the subway? Can it kill like COVID-19? Experts respond to monkeypox myths and misconceptions.

Orion Rummler

LGBTQ+ Reporter

Orion Rummler headshot

Published

2022-08-15 15:13
3:13
August 15, 2022
pm

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Can monkeypox spread on the subway? Can it kill like COVID-19? Is it transmitted through sex?

Misconceptions, myths and a lack of public knowledge on the monkeypox virus are widespread. Despite 57 percent of adults recently polled by Morning Consult feeling confident in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ability to control the spread of monkeypox, many Americans are misinformed on how the virus spreads and how concerned they should be

Last month, the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that nearly half of 1,580 surveyed adults were not sure if monkeypox was less contagious than COVID-19. (It is much less contagious.) One-third of more than 4,000 adults polled by Morning Consult aren’t sure how monkeypox spreads. Two-thirds of those surveyed by Annenberg were unsure or didn’t believe that there is a monkeypox vaccine (there is, it’s FDA-approved, and to be eligible for a vaccine right now in most areas, people must be in a high-risk group — predominately queer men, or trans and nonbinary people, who have had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last two weeks). 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Monkeypox is a disease primarily transmitted through skin-to-skin contact that can infect anyone, but is currently affecting queer men the most.

Here’s what experts have to say in response to common misconceptions and myths about the monkeypox virus. 

People can get monkeypox on public transit, in dressing rooms, or while shopping: False 

The risk of getting infected through these situations is extremely low, said Stephen Abbott, medical director at Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center, a D.C.-based health care provider focused on serving LGBTQ+ people.

Abbott stressed that spread occurs through direct skin-to-skin transmission — not skin-to-object, then someone else touching that object. The virus can spread by touching sex toys, sheets and other fabrics that have made contact with exposed lesions or skin rashes, per the CDC — but the vast majority of cases are being reported by men who had sex or close intimate contact with another man prior to infection.

Places where a person could typically pick up a cold or flu virus are not considered primary points of transmission.

“There’s really no evidence at this time to suggest people are being infected through casual contact through public transportation, and anything like that. The vast majority of the cases that have been identified from the outbreak so far had been through intimate contact or sexual activity,” said Daniel Uslan, co-chief infection prevention officer at UCLA Health and clinical chief of infectious diseases.

Monkeypox can spread through shaking hands or hugging: Not likely  

These are also very low-risk situations, Uslan said, adding that he is not aware of recorded cases where handshaking is the suspected route of transmission. 

But skin-to-skin contact with someone who has an open lesion can still occur if those lesions are on the hands, Abbott noted — and some lesions are so small that patients don’t notice them. 

“Some of the patients I’ve seen when I do their skin exam, they haven’t even noticed that they have a lesion on their hand,” he said. “They might inadvertently shake someone’s hand and expose them unknowingly.” 

However, some of the fears surrounding the spread of monkeypox — especially from low-risk encounters in public spaces — seem to manifest from anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, as gay and bisexual men are primarily contracting the virus right now, said Perry Halkitis, dean and professor of public health and health equity at Rutgers School of Public Health. 

“People will use any piece of information, if they are homophobic, to disadvantage and to stigmatize gay men,” he said. 

Monkeypox is an STD or STI: False, but sexual contact is still driving the spread.

The virus can spread through any prolonged skin-to-skin contact with lesions or rash areas — but transmission during sex, where plenty of skin-to-skin contact takes place, is still primarily how the virus is spreading right now. 

“You can have sex with somebody and have the flu, and they can get the flu. That doesn’t make the flu an STI,” Halkitis said. Oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse are not required for monkeypox transmission to occur, he added. 

“Technically, it is not [an STD or STI] because it is not solely spread through sexual contact. But the current outbreak appears to be spreading primarily through sexual contact, so it is associated with sex, but is not technically a sexually transmitted infection,” Uslan said. 

Abbott agreed that, by definition, monkeypox is not an STI or STD. Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, noted that the answer should ultimately not affect how the country responds to the virus — and that labeling the virus as an STI may not be black or white. 

“What we know is that sexual behavior, or particularly men who have sex with men with multiple partners, has been the bulk of the cases so far of monkeypox. And therefore transmission is very much associated with sexual activity,” Michaud said. “I think people are sort of debating terminology here. And we don’t necessarily need to classify it to be able to respond to it one way or the other.”

A nurse puts a bandaid on a man with a tattoo after administering his monkeypox vaccine.
A nurse with the Medical Reserve Corps vaccinates a man for monkeypox at a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health walk-up vaccination site in August 2022. (Sarah Reingewirtz/Los Angeles Daily News/Getty Images)

Having chickenpox or shingles protects someone from monkeypox: False  

The virus that causes chickenpox is unrelated to monkeypox, although their names are similar. 

“The viruses are in completely different families,” said Michaud. “In the case of the chickenpox virus, it doesn’t provide any cross-protection against monkeypox.” 

Getting the smallpox vaccine as a kid protects against monkeypox: Likely 

Someone who got the smallpox vaccine as a kid would likely have some protection against current monkeypox transmission, experts say, since the viruses are in the same family. However, any immunity provided by a childhood smallpox shot may have waned.

“Health departments are still suggesting that those folks get vaccinated,” Abbott said, adding that immunity may have waned because smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980. 

The passage of several decades since smallpox vaccinations were commonplace means that most young people have not received the same level of protection, Uslan noted. 

Monkeypox is as contagious, or as dangerous, as COVID-19: False 

Monkeypox is not as contagious, or as fatal, as COVID-19, which is highly transmissible through airborne and respiratory routes. 

“It is absolutely not as contagious as COVID,” Uslan said. Monkeypox is not spreading through casual contact, and evidence so far shows that patients are not contagious with monkeypox until symptoms emerge — as opposed to COVID-19, which asymptomatic people can spread. 

“It’s also not nearly as fatal,” Abbott said, and it won’t leave you with a chronic infection. “It’s a rash that is very uncomfortable and painful. But most people will recover in two to four weeks.” 

While scarring can be one long-term side effect, after the lesions heal, there haven’t been reports of a “long” monkeypox syndrome similar to the long COVID that many Americans have experienced. 

People are at higher risk of contracting monkeypox if they’ve had COVID-19 before: False  

There is no evidence to suggest that getting COVID-19 increases a person’s risk to contract monkeypox. While those who are immunocompromised are more susceptible to contract a variety of viruses, Halkitis noted, contracting COVID does not mean someone is more likely to get monkeypox. 

“With two different diseases, one doesn’t create exposure to the other,” Abbott said.

Children are at risk of getting monkeypox right now: False  

Children are still at minimal risk. While the virus could spread into their social networks at some point, the current focus to slow the spread of the virus is to vaccinate men who have sex with men.

“I don’t think parents should be terribly worried at this time, but this is something that people should be paying attention to,” Uslan said. “We have not seen a lot of cases in daycare settings for children at this point. So it doesn’t seem to be a major concern.” 

While a few monkeypox cases have been seen in women and children, and the potential for greater spread cannot be ignored, the difference in risk right now is still massive, Michaud said.

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Everyone is at the same risk of getting infected right now: False  

A person’s risk of getting infected with monkeypox is high right now if they are among high-risk groups like queer men who have recently had multiple sexual partners or anonymous sex, or aren’t using protection. 

“If we’re gonna get ahead of this and keep it from escalating, we need to be vaccinating those at highest risk — gay and bisexual men and our networks, and trans folks as well,” Abbott said, noting that social networks within these groups can be vectors for spread alongside sexual networks. 

“The highest-risk individuals in my view are young gay and bisexual men, born after 1972, who have no smallpox vaccination, and who are socializing in large groups with other gay men,” Halkitis said. 

It’s not safe for people with eczema to get the JYNNEOS vaccine shot: False 

It’s safe to get the JYNNEOS shot even with eczema or similar skin conditions. However, ACAM2000, an FDA-licensed smallpox vaccine that may also be effective against monkeypox but is not being widely offered due to a long list of side effects and a more difficult injection procedure, can be harmful to those with eczema and those with other exfoliative skin conditions or dermatitis. 

TPOXX treatment is not safe for people living with HIV: False 

TPOXX, the antiviral and primary pain management treatment for monkeypox, is safe for those living with HIV, including those taking antiviral drugs to manage their HIV, experts said. There are also no interactions between the JYNNEOS vaccine and HIV medications, Halkitis said. 

More studies on TPOXX’s effectiveness are gearing up and are likely to start in the next few weeks, Uslan said, although it is already known that the treatment is safe and well-tolerated in healthy patients. 

According to an analysis by the CDC of monkeypox cases from May through July, a substantial number of monkeypox cases have been reported among those with HIV. 

Find more information on monkeypox symptoms, how the virus spreads, and what to do if you are sick from the CDC’s website.  

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Help sustain what we started

Your monthly investment is critical to our sustainability as a nonprofit newsroom.

Donate Today

Become a member

Up Next

Florida governor Ron DeSantis

LGBTQ+

Florida’s medical board considers delaying gender-affirming care for adults and banning it for youths

Gender-affirming care remains unchanged in Florida right now, but the board’s action is just the latest move by state officials targeting transgender people.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram