Strategies Adopted by Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men to Prevent Monkeypox virus Transmission — United States, August 2022

Abstract

On August 26, 2022, this report was posted as an MMWR Early Release on the MMWR website (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr). The first U.S. case of monkeypox during the current outbreak was confirmed on May 17, 2022 (1);on August 4, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency.* To date, most reported monkeypox cases in the United States and globally have occurred among men who reported sexual or close intimate contact with another man during the 3 weeks before symptom onset (2). The multipronged response to monkeypox has included expanding access to monkeypox vaccine and developing messaging† for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking to reduce their chances for acquiring monkeypox. During August 5–15, 2022, a monkeypox-specific follow-up survey was completed by a convenience sample of 824 MSM who responded to the annual American Men’s Internet Survey (AMIS).§ Overall, 48% of respondents reported reducing their number of sex partners, 50% reported reducing one-time sexual encounters, and 50% reported reducing sex with partners met on dating apps or at sex venues since learning about the monkeypox outbreak. Nearly one in five respondents reported receiving ≥1 dose of vaccine to prevent monkeypox. Receipt of vaccine was highest among Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) men (27.1%) and lowest among non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) men (11.5%);17.7% of non-Hispanic White (White) men and 24.2% of men of other race or ethnicity received vaccine. Receipt of vaccine was higher in urban (27.8%) and suburban (14.5%) areas than in other areas (5.7%–7.0%).