In article <t2l12g$3mt4k$121@news.freedyn.de>
<governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> It's a FAGGOT SPREAD DISEASE! Nothing will change that.
>

After weeks of scouring public health departments across the
country and two foreign nations for any mention of a single
lesbian-to-lesbian transmission of the monkeypox virus, it is
worth asking why most of the agencies are mixing lesbians in
with gay men in their sexual orientation epidemiology categories.

The Los Angeles and San Francisco health departments at the end
of July documented zero female cases of monkeypox, hence no
lesbian cases, yet both have a single sexual orientation
category that combines gays and lesbians, in the former while
the latter city�s category is for LGBQ+.

Other domestic local and state jurisdictions with many monkeypox
cases, including Chicago, New York City and the rest of state
outside of the five boroughs, and California, show female cases
either at zero or in the single or low double digits and the
sexual orientation of the women is not disclosed the
epidemiology.

In Canada, the Ontario health authorities are not providing
sexual orientation data but in their technical notes mention
that although �cases have been mostly identified among males who
report sexual or intimate contact with other males (MSM), anyone
can get monkeypox.� Total female cases were at three and
lesbians are omitted from the epidemiology.

Across the pond, the UK Health Security Agency�s data collected
from �enhanced surveillance questionnaires� in their metric
category includes only gays, bisexuals and men who have sex with
men. They further explain that �the majority of monkeypox cases
in the UK continue to be in gay, bisexual and other men who have
sex with men, with the infection being passed on mainly through
close contact in interconnected sexual networks.� Again, nothing
referencing lesbians.

The most current authoritative recommendations and data
published in the Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report from the
Centers for Disease Control states, �Public health efforts
should prioritize gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with
men, who are currently disproportionately affected, for
prevention and testing, address equity, and minimize stigma,
while maintaining vigilance for transmission in other
populations.�

You know the drill by now. No reference whatsoever about lesbian
cases or women-loving-women at risk of contracting this virus.

My concerns are varied. First, it is inaccurate epidemiology to
lump gay, bisexual and MSM together with lesbians. They should
have their own category, if only so we know if they�re
contracting monkeypox and to address the unique health and
wellness needs of lesbians.

Second, health officials should explain why they have combined
various sexual orientations into one category. Give us the
reasoning behind this decision.

This is the closest San Francisco�s health officials have come
to give me a clear explanation: �As you can see, over 97% are in
individuals who identify as male, trans male or trans female.
You can get an idea on the impact to these groups based on this
data.�

California�s public health agency had this say: �Our team has
investigated your inquiry and found that currently this is a
limitation of the data that we have available based on how it is
collected and reported to CDPH. We are exploring options for how
to address this data collection [�]It is accurate that only a
handful of cases have been reported in individuals who identify
as women, and we know a majority of the cases are currently
occurring in men who identify as gay/bi/trans.�

What I believe we need is for the epidemiologists to break down
data already collected on the LGBTQ+ community and who has
contracted monkeypox, say why they�ve mixed us together, and in
the future create separate categories as they have done for
racial demographics.

The epidemiologists do not put all people of color into a single
category and the same should be done for this and all diseases
regarding the queer populations.

I asked respected and longtime health reporter, AIDS and
bisexual activist Liz Highleyman, for her thoughts about these
matters and she replied:

�True, one should not say �LGBT people� when they mean gay/bi
men. But this reminds me of when some activists demanded
diversion of resources from heavily impacted communities to
study HIV among lesbians or run HIV prevention programs for
lesbians.�

Yes, I too remember during the AIDS plague year, not just what
she says about lesbians, which I believe was based on
politically correct thinking about HIV epidemiology, which did
no one any good.

There are vast differences separating gay men and lesbians, and
science should reflect that reality, which unfortunately is not
the case today with monkeypox statistics and messaging.

FACTUAL COMMENTS:

d farr
13 August, 2022

If all of the little gay boys out there would just keep their
butt cheeks shut for a few weeks, we could flatten the curve of
this disgusting virus.

https://gaycitynews.com/why-are-lesbians-and-gay-bi-men-lumped-
together-in-monkeypox-stats/