全国几个城市的抗议者呼吁拜登政府以及地方官员解决这个问题猴痘病例快速上升。
包括许多LGBTQ积极分子在内的示威者表示，官员们尚未向弱势群体提供必要的宣传，因为疫苗推广仍面临诸多问题。
美国疫情爆发的中心纽约市的几个组织正计划周四举行抗议活动。
纽约市近60%被诊断出患有猴痘的人都自称作为LGBTQ社区的成员根据纽约市卫生局的数据。
根据美国疾病控制和预防中心的数据，该市迄今已出现600多例病例。疾病预防控制中心说，截至7月20日，美国已有超过2100例确诊病例，数字还在迅速上升。
联邦和州机构一直在努力供应足够的疫苗和治疗猴痘的药物的需求成千上万地增长。
包括艾滋病毒/艾滋病意识和倡导组织住房工作和纽约行动在内的团体表示，他们有一份针对州政府和联邦政府的请求清单。
“这是一种耻辱，”周四抗议活动的组织者、LGBTQ犹太青年组织JQY的临床主任Mordechai Levovitz说。“有一个禁忌。对于脸上有(皮疹和损伤)的人来说，这是他们无法隐瞒的事情。”
在州一级，该组织要求扩大疫苗预约的可用性;有意义的社区外联;疫苗储备;为测试呈阳性而不得不停止工作的人设立一个安全网基金;以及提供用于隔离的酒店房间。
在联邦层面，抗议者呼吁疾控中心开展关于猴痘检测的大规模宣传活动，为无保险和保险不足的个人提供免费和方便的检测，并呼吁政府提供感染人群的人口统计数据。
“联邦政府现在必须投资于关于猴痘检测、治疗和疫苗可用性的沟通，”根据Act Up New York的一份声明。
它继续说，“我们需要对所有社区进行有意义的外联，包括弱势群体，简化的沟通工作，大规模测试的实施，加快FDA对TPOXX (MPX治疗)的批准，以及美国政府对巴伐利亚北欧库存(1520万疫苗)采取行动的公共计划。”
在周三的新闻发布会上，纽约卫生部官员表示，他们正在与倡导者和活动人士合作，开展外联工作。
“我们一直在开发临床指南，扩大测试能力——最初是从我们的公共卫生实验室，现在是商业实验室——正如州长所说，与联邦政府合作，并振兴我们的地方卫生部门网络，”州卫生专员玛丽·t·巴塞特博士说。
她继续说道，“我们在做所有这些事情的时候，都非常重视尊严和尊重的重要性，不带任何偏见，公平始终是我们工作的核心。”
CDC没有立即回应ABC新闻的评论请求。
旧金山也发生了抗议活动，病例正在上升。旧金山公共卫生部报告了55例猴痘病例仅在7月19日一天，全市病例总数达到141例。
LGBTQ群体对病例的快速传播保持高度警惕，称围绕感染情况的信息没有充分传达给高危群体。
虽然还没有美国各地病例的人口统计数据，但纽约市近60%的感染者自称是LGBTQIA+社区的成员，尽管39.6%的病例没有性取向的人口统计数据。两个人——0.6%的案例——报告说他们认为自己是异性恋。
根据世界卫生组织的数据，欧洲至少有34%的感染者被确认为同性恋或双性恋欧洲疾病预防和控制中心。
然而，欧洲机构表示，65%的感染者的性取向在数据中是未知的或缺失的。
官员们强调，同性恋和双性恋男子在美国尤其面临风险，尽管他们强调任何人都可能感染这种疾病。
疾病控制中心说猴痘可以传播在其他途径中，通过直接接触传染性皮疹、痂或体液，或通过长时间面对面接触或密切身体接触时的呼吸道分泌物。
Rising monkeypox cases alarm LGBTQ activists
Protesters in several cities across the country are calling on the Biden administration, as well as local officials, to address therapid rise in monkeypox cases.
Demonstrators, including many LGBTQ activists, say officials have yet to provide the necessary outreach to vulnerable populations as issues continue to plague the vaccine rollout.
A protest is being planned for Thursday by several organizations in New York City, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.
Nearly 60% of those diagnosed with monkeypox in New York City have self-identifiedas members of the LGBTQ community, according to the New York City Department of Health.
The city has seen more than 600 cases so far, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of July 20, there have been over 2,100 confirmed cases in the U.S. with numbers quickly rising, the CDC says.
Federal and state agencieshave been scrambling to supply enough vaccinesand treatments for monkeypox as demand grows by the tens of thousands.
Groups, including HIV/AIDs awareness and advocacy organizations Housing Works and ACT UP New York, said they have a list of requests for both state and federal governments.
California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon talks during a news conference at Out Here Sexual Health Center in the Baldwin Hills section of Los Angeles, July 20, 2022.
Richard Vogel/AP
"There is a shame involved in this," said Mordechai Levovitz, an organizer of the Thursday protest and clinical director of LGBTQ Jewish youth group JQY. "There is a taboo. This is something that, for people who had [rashes and lesions] on their face, something that they can't hide."
On the state level, the group is demanding an expansion of vaccine appointment availability; meaningful community outreach; a stockpile of vaccines; a safety net fund for people who test positive and have to take off of work; as well as providing hotel rooms for quarantining.
On the federal level, protestors are calling for large-scale information campaigns about monkeypox testing from the CDC, and free and accessible testing for un- and underinsured individuals, as well as for the government to provide a demographic breakdown of infected populations.
"The federal government must invest in communication about monkeypox testing, treatment, and vaccine availability now," according to a statement from Act Up New York.
It continued, "We need meaningful outreach to all communities including vulnerable populations, streamlined communication efforts, mass testing implementation, expedited FDA approval of TPOXX (MPX treatment), and a public plan for the US government to take action on the Bavarian Nordic stockpile (15.2 million vaccines)."
In a press conference Wednesday, New York Department of Health officials said they are working with advocates and activists on outreach efforts.
"We’ve been developing clinical guidance, expanding test capacity – initially from our public health labs, and now to commercial labs – partnering with the federal government, as the Governor has said, and revitalizing our network of local health departments," said State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett.
She continued, "We’re doing all of this with real attention to the importance of dignity and respect, without stigma, and with equity always at the center of our work.”
The CDC did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.
Protests have also taken place in San Francisco where cases are rising. The San Francisco Department of Public Healthreported 55 monkeypox caseson July 19 alone, bringing the total number of cases in the city to 141.
LGBTQ groups have been on high alert regarding the rapid spread of cases, saying that the messaging around the circumstances of infection has not been adequately communicated to at-risk communities.
Though demographic data is not yet available for cases across the U.S., nearly 60% of people infected in New York City self-reported as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, though demographic data on sexual orientation was unavailable for 39.6% of the cases. Two individuals — 0.6% of cases — reported that they identify as straight.
At least 34% of those infected in Europe identified as gay or bisexual, according to theEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
However, the sexual orientation of 65% of the infected people is unknown or missing in the data, the European agency said.
Officials have emphasized that gay and bisexual men, in particular, are at risk here in the U.S., though they stress that anyone can contract the illness.
The CDCsays monkeypox can spread, among other ways, through through direct contact with an infectious rash, scab or bodily fluids or via respiratory secretions during prolonged face-to-face contact or intimate physical contact.
