Rep. Mondaire Jones makes video of getting second monkeypox vaccine
Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), at a time when racial disparities in the monkeypox outbreak are becoming more pronounced, took a visible role Thursday in embracing efforts in contain the disease, putting out a video of him obtaining a vaccine.
Jones, who’s one of two openly gay Black members of Congress, is shown in the video outside of Westchester Medical Center’s drive-through clinic in Westchester County, N.Y., saying he just obtained his second dose of the monkeypox vaccine. “Monkeypox is hitting LGBTQ+ communities of color particularly hard,” Jones said in a tweet. “The most effective way to stop the spread is to get vaccinated and to talk about it — to overcome stigma and misinformation.
I did my part and got vaccinated. You should, too.” The video comes out as racial disparities persist in the monkeypox outreach, even though the number of new cases overall is beginning to decline.
In the week of Sept. 4, Black people consisted of 41 percent of the cases and Latinos consisted of 27 percent, while 26 percent were white and three percent were Asian, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.
