Should monkeypox be renamed? + Newsom urges Congress to safeguard California privacy law
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
LGBTQ GROUPS CALL ON CDC TO RENAME MONKEYPOX
As monkeypox cases grow at an alarming rate in California, several LGBTQ organizations are calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rename the virus hMPXV, arguing in a letter that the “monkeypox” designation is both misleading and stigmatizing.
hMPXV is the name for the human version of the monkeypox virus, which first was discovered in monkeys.
The letter, written and published by the groups Equality California, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, argues that the virus “has no clear link to West Africa where the virus typically originates, and it acts differently than the West Africa strain.”
“Additionally, the current nomenclature and association to West Africa are stigmatizing and could lead to discrimination. As decades long leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the undersigned organizations strive to create an environment where diseases do not discriminate against populations and are concerned the current name undermines decades of efforts to minimize stigma in (men who have sex with men) communities,” the letter reads in part.
The letter also calls on the CDC to expand access to testing for the virus and to expand vaccine access as well.
Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has been particularly outspoken on Twitter this week as he seeks to get more vaccines for San Francisco, which has seen growing numbers of cases of the virus.
Wiener led a delegation of lawmakers in writing to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, on the topic.
“We write to urgently request a budget appropriation, before the end of our legislative session, to fight the growing monkeypox outbreak in California – specifically, to support local efforts to expand vaccination, testing, treatment and education/outreach to impacted communities,” the letter reads in part.
NEWSOM WRITES CONGRESSMAN ABOUT PRIVACY BILL
In yesterday’s alert, we reported that California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a coalition of attorneys general in calling on Congress not to step on state privacy laws when crafting federal legislation.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, too, has written a letter, this one to Rep. Frank Pallone, D-New Jersey, who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which is currently considering the American Data Privacy and Protection Act.
“California is a national leader in protecting the privacy of consumers in this state, who already have robust protections, including the right to access, delete, and prevent companies from selling their personal information. And thanks to California voters, California is home to the first data protection agency in the United States, which possesses authority to defend Californians’ constitutional right to privacy,” Newsom wrote in his letter to Pallone.
Newsom writes that the federal bill would undermine California’s law, and he requested a carve-out for the Golden State, saying it would keep California’s stringent privacy laws intact while the federal law would have “important impacts” on other states.
“The ADPPA is an important policy step to protect privacy – but it should not come at the expense of the fundamental protections Californians already enjoy. It is imperative that any federal law that is enacted preserves California’s existing authority to establish and enforce privacy protections,” Newsom wrote.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“CalRecycle needs to hold retailers accountable when they dismiss consumers who are trying to redeem their CRV. Failure to do so results in more waste in our landfills and consumers unable to get their money back.”
- Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, sharing a report about California retailers refusing to redeem soda cans and bottles as required by state law, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
California lawmakers have approved a controversial no-bid statewide Medi-Cal contract for HMO giant Kaiser Permanente over the objection of county governments and competing health plans. But key details — including how many new patients KP will enroll — are still unclear, via Bernard J. Wolfson, Kaiser Health News.
California residents can now reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline with just three digits: 988. The program, under the helm of mental health organizations Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Didi Hirsh, was launched nationally on July 16, via Hanh Truong.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced its first annual investment loss since the Great Recession on Wednesday, reporting a preliminary drop of 6.1% for the fiscal year that ended June 30, via Wes Venteicher.
Clinics that treat sexually transmitted diseases — already struggling to contain an explosive increase in infections such as syphilis and gonorrhea — now find themselves on the front lines in the nation’s fight to control the rapidly growing monkeypox outbreak, via Liz Szabo and Lauren Weber, Kaiser Health News.
Latino advocacy groups this month are gearing up campaigns to mobilize voters ahead of this fall’s midterm elections, when Hispanic turnout could be critical to determining several California races, via Mathew Miranda.