Pro-Lockdown Yale Professor’s Reaction to Monkeypox Sums Up the Failure of the Health Establishment

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Gregg Gonsalves, a professor at the Yale School of Public Health who zealously advocated lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, has faced backlash for taking a very different tone in response to an ongoing outbreak of monkeypox.

SO WHAT

This is why so many Americans have lost faith in public health officials.

THE MONKEYPOX RULES

Following reports that linked the spread of monkeypox to two different gay venues, Gonsalves posted a series of tweets Sunday urging the public not to stigmatize the LGBT community.

“The answer isn’t shut down all these parties, tell gay men to stop having sex at them or dancing in close proximity to each other,” tweeted Gonsalves, who in addition to his work as an epidemiologist is a liberal activist and public health correspondent for The Nation.

The United Nations’ AIDS Agency, while acknowledging that “a significant proportion” of recent monkeypox cases have been identified in gay men, issued a statement Sunday saying some news reports on the outbreak “reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma.”

  • Health officials have indicated that known monkeypox cases in Europe have occurred mostly among men who have sex with men, The Associated Press reported Monday.
  • Dr. David Heymann, a former head of the World Health Organization’s emergencies department, told The AP the leading theory for the spread of the viral disease is sexual transmission at raves in Spain and Belgium.

THE RECEIPTS

Critics pushed back on Gonsalves’ admonitions by resurfacing his past tweets fiercely pushing for lockdowns, mask mandates and other maximalist measures in response to COVID-19.

“I’m glad he’s taking a nuanced and empathetic approach to this virus, but it rings hollow after two years of demanding lockdowns and mandates for Covid,” tweeted Christina Pushaw, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary.

  • “If restricting the freedom of gay men won’t stop HIV or monkeypox, why would restricting the freedom of everyone — with lockdowns, closures, or mask mandates — stop COVID?” asked Washington Free Beacon reporter Aaron Sibarium.

SAME ENERGY

The politicization of scientific expertise during the pandemic led to a severe decline in trust of public health institutions.

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