Photo: Vivien Killilea/Getty
Jonathan Van Nessis sharing his thoughts on the U.S. government’s “botched response” to the monkeypox outbreak.
In a pointedTIMEessay published on Monday, the 35-year-oldQueer Eyestar recalled the moment the nationreported its first official casein May, calling out the government’s reaction.
The reality of the virus hit home for Van Ness when a friend was forced to cancel a trip to New Orleans, where Van Ness is tapingQueer Eye,after being exposed to monkeypox.
“I started calling all the political contacts I have, ringing alarm bells about how quickly cases were rising, and pleading with officials to take the virus more seriously.”
“Once again, we’re seeing too little action taken until the situation has ballooned out of control. If nothing changes, we’ll continue to experience failures like this response, which has been plagued withtoo few tests,lack of access to treatments,inadequate vaccine supply, and ambiguous guidance,” he said.
Van Ness then called out officials for not taking “more proactive steps” to release an easily accessible vaccine after cases “began rising in June.”
“Why is it that we haven’t seen this administration prioritize the rapid procurement of monkeypox vaccines?' he asked pointing to how, like at the start of the AIDS epidemic, many seem to be considering –– and dismissing –– the virus as something just impacting the LGBTQ+ community.
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The star noted that monkeypox beingdeclared a public health emergency"was a step in the right direction — but it was a day late and a dollar short” before sharing a joke he often tells during his stand-up shows.
“It’s been so funny watching straight people be shocked with the government response during COVID-19, because we’re like, ‘Honey, this is Tuesday,” Van Ness, who discovered he was HIV positive 10 years ago, said. “You thought the government was going to come help you?’ We’re used to this sort of inaction. Monkeypox is like: same day, different virus.”
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Added the star: “I think that tragedy, hope, despair, and resilience all can live next door to each other. But we need to act.”
“This isn’t just a monkeypox story. This is a story of how weconsistently fail people on the margins. We have to become bold about what we’re willing to witness—and no one should have been willing to witness this outbreak spread for the last two months,” he wrote."
source: people.com
