The disease itself (a viral infection related to smallpox) is not likely to infect significant numbers of people because transmission requires close physical contact and smallpox vaccines are effective as a preventative. Both the CDC and WHO characterize risk to the general public as low.
The “how bad could this get” danger comes from the anti-gay right exploiting the fact that the pox has “mainly but not exclusively” been identified among men who have sex with men so far, and blowing it up to another HIV/AIDS panic to ostracize gay men. If that happens, I won’t be surprised at all, because the trans panic is not taking hold among the general public and the anti-gay right needs a rallying “us against them” cause, as always.
One Comment for “How Bad Could This Get?”
posted by Tom Scharbach on
“How Bad Could This Get?”
The disease itself (a viral infection related to smallpox) is not likely to infect significant numbers of people because transmission requires close physical contact and smallpox vaccines are effective as a preventative. Both the CDC and WHO characterize risk to the general public as low.
The “how bad could this get” danger comes from the anti-gay right exploiting the fact that the pox has “mainly but not exclusively” been identified among men who have sex with men so far, and blowing it up to another HIV/AIDS panic to ostracize gay men. If that happens, I won’t be surprised at all, because the trans panic is not taking hold among the general public and the anti-gay right needs a rallying “us against them” cause, as always.