--- title: The Best Way to Slow the Spread of Monkeypox description: A leading public health expert explains how to get Monkeypox vaccines to those communities most in need of it canonical: https://time.com/6200179/slow-spread-of-monkeypox-vaccine/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-07-25T18:39:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T14:32:19.779Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Best Way to Slow the Spread of Monkeypox og:description: A leading public health expert explains how to get Monkeypox vaccines to those communities most in need of it og:url: https://time.com/6200179/slow-spread-of-monkeypox-vaccine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99054c76c04a701e/698a33ff22fb85010ce2db30/GettyImages-1241959529.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-HEALTH-VIRUS-MONKEYPOX-VACCINES og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Best Way to Slow the Spread of Monkeypox twitter:description: A leading public health expert explains how to get Monkeypox vaccines to those communities most in need of it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99054c76c04a701e/698a33ff22fb85010ce2db30/GettyImages-1241959529.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Best Way to Slow the Spread of Monkeypox > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=8f145f5a-d1d4-4e6e-b428-cba47e41d0fb&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=8f145f5a-d1d4-4e6e-b428-cba47e41d0fb&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=8f145f5a-d1d4-4e6e-b428-cba47e41d0fb&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Céline R. Gounder](https://time.com/author/celine-r-gounder/) ## Céline R. Gounder Jul 25, 2022 6:39 PM UTC  People wait in line to recieve the Monkeypox vaccine before the opening of a new mass vaccination site at the Bushwick Education Campus in Brooklyn on July 17, 2022, in New York City. - New York, on the US East Coast, has already either administered or scheduled 21,500 vaccines and hopes to speed up the process, promising more than 30,000 jabs for the whole state. People wait in line to recieve the Monkeypox vaccine before the opening of a new mass vaccination site at the Bushwick Education Campus in Brooklyn on July 17, 2022, in New York City. - New York, on the US East Coast, has already either administered or scheduled 21,500 vaccines and hopes to speed up the process, promising more than 30,000 jabs for the whole state.KENA BETANCUR-AFP Getty Images by [Céline R. Gounder](https://time.com/author/celine-r-gounder/) ## Céline R. Gounder Jul 25, 2022 6:39 PM UTC On July 23rd, World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). It was a contentious decision, with WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus making the final call and overruling the WHO’s Emergency Committee. The advisory committee’s [disagreements](https://www.science.org/content/article/declaring-monkeypox-an-international-emergency-who-chief-rejects-expert-panels-advice) mirrored debates unfolding among public officials, on social media, and in opinion pages over the last several weeks. Is monkeypox a public health emergency when it’s “just” spreading among gay and bisexual men and trans women? To what degree do cisgender men, women, and kids need to worry? Behind these questions are concerns about stigma and how best to allocate limited resources. But they also reflect an individualistic understanding of public health. Rather than asking what the monkeypox outbreak means for them _now_, the whole public should be asking how the monkeypox outbreak could impact them in the future and why and how it could be contained now. The longer monkeypox transmission goes unchecked, the more likely it is to spill over into other populations. There have already been a handful of cases among women and a couple cases in children due to household transmission. In healthy people, monkeypox can be extremely painful and disfiguring. But in pregnant women, newborns, young children, and immunocompromised people, monkeypox can be deadly. These populations would all be in danger if monkeypox becomes entrenched in this country. Stopping transmission among men who have sex with men will protect them in the here and now and more vulnerable populations in the future. But with a limited supply of [monkeypox vaccine](https://time.com/6198298/monkeypox-vaccine-shortage/) available, how can public health officials best target vaccines equitably for impact? It won’t be enough to vaccinate close contacts of people with monkeypox to stop the spread. Public health officials have been unable to follow all chains of transmission, which means that many cases are going undiagnosed. Meanwhile the risk of monkeypox (and other sexually transmissible diseases) isn’t evenly distributed among gay and bisexual men and trans women, and targeting all of them would outstrip supply. Such a strategy also risks stigmatizing these groups on the basis of their identity. The CDC recently [expanded eligibility](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/clinicians/faq.html%2AEligible-mpox%5F%5F;Iw!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFJdWw14e$) for monkeypox vaccination to include people who know that a sexual partner in the past 14 days was diagnosed with monkeypox or who had multiple sexual partners in the past 14 days in a jurisdiction with known monkeypox cases. But this approach depends on people having [access to testing](https://time.com/6198670/monkeypox-testing-difficult-slow/). Clinicians in some jurisdictions are testing much more than in others. Alternatively, public health officials could target monkeypox vaccinations to gay and bisexual men and trans women who have HIV or are considered to be at high-risk for HIV and are eligible for [pre-exposure prophylaxis](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFPvVJM23$) (PrEP, i.e. taking medications to prevent HIV infection). Afterall, there’s a lot of overlap between these populations and those at risk for monkeypox. But only [25%](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/fact-sheets/hiv/PrEP-for-hiv-prevention-in-the-US-factsheet.html%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFA3SFMv1$) of people eligible for PrEP in the U.S. are prescribed it, and that proportion drops to 16% and 9% among Hispanic and Black people respectively. This approach risks missing many at risk and exacerbating existing racial and ethnic disparities. This is why some LGBTQ activists are advocating for more aggressive outreach. “We talk about two kinds of surveillance. Passive surveillance, where I show up to my doctor’s office,” says Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health and a longtime AIDS activist. “Active surveillance is where we go out and we seek cases actively by going where people are at. There are parties, social venues, sex clubs where we could be doing monkeypox testing,” he says. This will be especially critical [outside](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.wral.com/durham-patient-questions-north-carolina-s-readiness-for-monkeypox-outbreak/20371442/%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFEMpXnuL$) gay-friendly cities, where both patients and providers may be less informed and gay sex more stigmatized. In New York City, the epicenter of monkeypox in the U.S., disparities in access to monkeypox vaccine have already emerged. The city’s health department offered appointments for first doses of monkeypox vaccine through an online web portal and promoted them on Twitter. Those initial doses were administered at a sexual health clinic in the well-to-do Chelsea neighborhood. **_Read More:_** [**_Why Is It So Hard to Find Monkeypox Vaccines_**](https://time.com/6198298/monkeypox-vaccine-shortage/) According to Gonsalves, “It was in the middle of the day. It was in a predominantly gay white neighborhood… It really was targeted at a demographic that will be first in line for everything. This is the problem with relying on passive surveillance and people coming to you.” According to Dr. Michael Levasseur, an epidemiologist at Drexel University, “The demographics of that population may not actually reflect the highest risk group. I’m not even sure that we know the highest risk group in New York City at the moment.” Granted, [three-quarters](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/nyregion/monkeypox-vaccine-rollout.html%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFB7is47E$) of the city’s cases had been reported in Chelsea, a neighborhood that is known for having a large LGBTQ community, but that’s also a reflection of awareness and access to testing. Although [more labs](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/22/monkeypox-testing-expands/%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFEEgmYXE$) are offering monkeypox testing, [many clinicians](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/lesions-headaches-debilitating-pain-gay-men-monkeypox-share-stories-rcna36789%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFLAlX9Mg$) are still unaware of or unwilling to test patients for monkeypox. You have to be a strong advocate for yourself to get tested, which disadvantages already marginalized populations. The NYC health department then opened a second vaccination site in Central Harlem to better reach communities of color, and yet, most of those accessing monkeypox vaccines there have been [white men](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/twitter.com/benryanwriter/status/1545171210912292864?s=20&t=yXAZEeXp1IjMEnWbup1MOA%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFBoLQiLw$). And in the last week, NYC launched [three mass vaccination sites](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/twitter.com/celinegounder/status/1548059006303813633%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFGfTMOSh$) in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, which were open for one day only. To get the monkeypox vaccine, you had to be in the know, have the day off, and be willing and able to stand in line in public. How can public health officials do that active surveillance Gonsalves is talking about in order to target monkeypox vaccination equitably and to those at highest risk? Part of the answer may lie in efforts to map sexual networks and the spread of monkeypox, like the Rapid Epidemiologic Study of Prevalence, Network, and Demographics of Monkeypox Infection ([RESPND-MI](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.mpxresponse.org%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFCs36Ax7$)). Your risk of exposure to monkeypox depends on the probability of someone in your sexual network having monkeypox. The study may, for example, help clarify the relative importance of group sex at parties and large events versus dating apps in the spread of monkeypox across sexual networks. “A network map can tell us, given that vaccine is so scarce, the most important demographics of folk who need to get vaccine first, not just to protect themselves, but actually to slow the spread,” says Dr. Joe Osmundson, a molecular microbiologist at New York University and co-Principal Investigator of the RESPND-MI study. During the initial phase of COVID-19 vaccine rollout, when vaccines were given at pharmacies and mass vaccination centers, a racial gap emerged in vaccination rates. Public health officials closed that gap by meeting people where they were, in approachable community-based settings and through mobile vans, for example. They worked hard with trusted messengers to reach people of color who may be wary of the health care system. Similarly, sexual health clinics may not be a one-size-fits-all solution for monkeypox testing and vaccination. Though sexual health clinics may feel more welcoming to some, others may fear being seen attending one. Others may not be able to go to sexual health clinics due to their [limited hours of operation](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/sexual-health-clinics.page%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFGUBog-i$) on weekdays only. It isn’t new for public health officials to meet members of the LGBTQ community where they are. During a 2013 outbreak of meningitis among gay and bisexual men and trans women, health departments across the country [forged relationships](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/health/for-gay-men-a-fear-that-feels-familiar.html%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFHrMPnyI$) with LGBTQ community-based organizations to distribute meningitis vaccines. Unlike New York City, Chicago is now leveraging those relationships to vaccinate those at highest risk for monkeypox. According to Massimo Pacilli, Chicago’s Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control, “The vaccine isn’t indicated for the general public nor, at this point, for any MSM.” Chicago is distributing monkeypox vaccines through venues like [gay bathhouses](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/www.hpherald.com/news/local/nowhere-near-enough-vaccine-to-meet-need-as-monkeypox-spreads-in-chicago/article%5F11efe710-fe42-11ec-bcd5-ef4374a75ac0.html%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFJeiUA6T$) and bars to target those at highest risk. “We’re not having to screen out when people present because we’re doing so upstream by doing the outreach in a different way,” says Pacilli. He says that monkeypox vaccination “is intentionally decentralized. And because of that, the modes by which any individual comes to vaccine is also very diverse.” Another reason to partner with LGBTQ community organizations is to expand capacity. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is one of the biggest and best funded health departments in the country, and yet, even they are [struggling](https://urldefense.com/v3/%5F%5Fhttps:/twitter.com/MarkLevineNYC/status/1546995397838643201?s=20&t=uJ-KgbNTw0aBqYuHzcw7EQ%5F%5F;!!AI0rnoUB!5hNE-ekWzR16y%5FKGpt7zUxsliSLNfW6C2xlLgt5yTze7jzBk7ZKnz4DmWQepn3JJxw0COlY6ejjd0gzfFJSCWrMg$) to respond quickly and robustly to the monkeypox outbreak. “COVID has overwhelmed many public health departments, and they could use the help, frankly, of LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS organizations,” in controlling monkeypox, says Gonsalves. But even as public health officials try to control the transmission of monkeypox among gay and bisexual men and trans women in this country, it’s important not to forget that monkeypox has been spreading in West and Central Africa for years. Not all of that transmission has been occurring among the MSM community. Strategies for controlling monkeypox will need to be informed by the local epidemiology. Social and sexual mapping will be even more critical but challenging in countries, like Nigeria, where gay sex is illegal. Sadly, wealthier nations are already hoarding monkeypox vaccine supply as they did COVID vaccines. If access to monkeypox vaccine remains inequitable, it will leave all countries vulnerable to resurgences in the future. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6200179/slow-spread-of-monkeypox-vaccine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6200179/slow-spread-of-monkeypox-vaccine/"},"headline":"The Best Way to Slow the Spread of Monkeypox","datePublished":"2022-07-25T18:39:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T14:32:19.779Z","description":"A leading public health expert explains how to get Monkeypox vaccines to those communities most in need of it","url":"https://time.com/6200179/slow-spread-of-monkeypox-vaccine/","keywords":["health","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99054c76c04a701e/698a33ff22fb85010ce2db30/GettyImages-1241959529.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Céline R. Gounder","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/celine-r-gounder/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99054c76c04a701e/698a33ff22fb85010ce2db30/GettyImages-1241959529.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-HEALTH-VIRUS-MONKEYPOX-VACCINES","caption":"US-HEALTH-VIRUS-MONKEYPOX-VACCINES","creditText":"KENA BETANCUR-AFP Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health/","name":"health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6200179/slow-spread-of-monkeypox-vaccine/","name":"The Best Way to Slow the Spread of Monkeypox"}}]}] ```