After all the hype about Monkeypox a few months ago, I am glad to see it is no longer in the news. Which means 1 thing: it’s not so bad after all. The CDC, the news media and public health experts all warned us that this would be a major problem for the US and the world. They talked about it spreading from the gay male community where outbreaks were first detected in the US, to kids in daycare, college students and sexually active adults in the general population.
Apparently, it hasn’t. Because if it had, we’d be seeing headlines and photos everyday of “tragic victims” and “suffering innocents”.
I’m not downplaying the seriousness of Monkeypox. Nor am I making light of its painful effects on people who catch it. It sounds awful and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
But – even when I heard about it earlier this year – I felt like it was being hyped up by officials and the media. Why? To stoke fear, compliance and clicks al in service of money – for profits, for funding and for job security.
There’s nothing new here. Now that Covid continues to wane in the US, the latest scare focus is on the flu and RSV. Again, we know that getting either sucks. We also know that a small % of people have serious complications and can die from these.
But really? Do you have to try to scare everyone, all the time?
We can do better.