LGBTQ Jewish leaders step up to combat monkeypox, stigmatization

With San Francisco having emerged as the epicenter of California’s monkeypox outbreak — with nearly 400 confirmed cases as of Tuesday, the day after the city’s state of emergency went into effect — local LGBTQ Jewish leaders are stepping to the forefront.

One prominent gay San Franciscan, state Sen. Scott Wiener, began urging city leaders early on to declare the state of emergency, saying it would “create significant flexibility around testing, contracting for services and administration of vaccinations.”

Wiener, a member of California’s Legislative Jewish Caucus and its Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, noted that “San Francisco was at the forefront of the public health responses to HIV and Covid-19, and we will be at the forefront when it comes to monkeypox. We can’t and won’t leave the LGBTQ community out to dry.”