SciShow explains 'Monkeypox Isn’t New, But There Are Many Ways It’s Different'

This past May, I posted SciShow asks 'What Is Monkeypox?' At that time, I wrote that "I found this video both concerning and reassuring" but changed my mind the next month.

As I wrote in June, "it looks like I may have been too sanguine about monkeypox." I didn't think it would get this bad. Now I expect it will get worse.

After I wrote that, the Biden Administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency and 'Last Week Tonight' examined monkeypox. Since I alternated between serious and comedic looks at the diseasse, it was time for me to share a serious examination. SciShow gave me exactly that in Monkeypox Isn’t New, But There Are Many Ways It’s Different.

The current human monkeypox outbreak has left many feeling uneasy about the potential of another pandemic. Through public health messaging, destigmatization, and a longer history of research on the disease, we're diminishing that potential.

Early in the outbreak, my wife figured out that either the disease changed or people have changed, possibly because COVID-19 affected immune response. As SciShow pointed out, the virus did change and so did people, but because of younger people no longer being vaccinated against smallpox, not because of COVID-19. Still, that's enough to prove my wife right. Smart woman.

The next and maybe last January 6th Committee hearing is today, so stay tuned as I cover that tomorrow.