A person gets the monkeypox vaccination in Encino, California, on Sept. 8, 2022. (Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Survey responders who identify as gay or bisexual men express particular concern about the monkeypox outbreak and provide a more depressing assessment of the United States government’s comment than direct people, according to a fresh Pew Research Center survey. People who identify as gay or lesbian are also more likely to claim they have or want to get a monkeypox vaccine.
On August 1, the US declared monkeypox a public health emergency, as circumstances spread throughout the nation after the first event to be reported on May 17 were reported. The majority of instances of monkeypox have been reported to be caused by people having sex with men. People of the LGBTQ community have expressed frustration with the government’s response to the pandemic, which includes the limited supply of vaccines to stop the disease.
How we did this
This study was conducted by the Pew Research Center to know what Americans think about the monkeypox outbreak. Messages are gathered from a Center poll of 10,588 U.S. residents conducted Sept. 13 to 18, 2022.
The Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through a nationwide, random sampling of residential addresses, employs everyone who participates in the survey. This way, almost all U.S. individuals have a chance of choice. The study is considered to be official of the U.S. child population by sex, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, education and other groups. Read more about the ATP’s approach.
Here are the queries used for this analysis, together with reactions, and its approach.
Among U.S. adults overall, similar shares say that the country has done an excellent or good job (35%) or an only fair or poor job (36%) responding to the monkeypox outbreak, while another 29% say they are not sure, according to the Center’s new survey.
However, behavior are remarkably different between lesbian and bisexual men. Around a third (34%) of those in this group claim that the nation has handled the outbreak well or well, and the other half (49%) claim that it has only handled the outbreak poorly or fairly. Immediately men are equally divided in their evaluations.
(94%) The majority of Americans are familiar with at least some aspects of the monkeypox outbreak. People who identify as gay or lesbian are especially likely to claim to include heard more. Among this group, 40% say they have heard or read a great deal or quite a bit about the monkeypox outbreak, compared with 29% of straight adults. (Read the topline document for more details.)
Compared to straight men (67%), gay or bisexual men (83%) are more likely than straight men to perceive the monkeypox outbreak as at least a minor threat to the United States public wellbeing. Compared to 42% of straight men, roughly three-quarters of gay or bisexual men (74%) claim that the monkeypox outbreak presents at least a minor threat to their personal health.
One-in-ten gay or bisexual men who claim to have already vaccinated for the disease claim they will certainly or likely will do so. In contrast, this accounts for roughly one-third of the U.S. adults overall (34%).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people who have come into contact with someone who has chikungunya to get it shot, for people who engage in sexual activity with people, and for those who have had sex with multiple companions in recent months, among other factors.
38% of gay or bisexual men claim to have taken some kind of action to reduce their risk of contracting the monkeypox disease in a separate issue from the Center’s new study. (Learn the topline for more information.)
Note: Here are the queries used for this analysis, together with reactions, and its approach.
