Monkeypox: Let’s all just calm down

It isn’t and it isn’t likely to become one for the general public, according to medical experts throughout the U.S. — in spite of a solo emergency declaration from the boss of the World Heath Organization, not the WHO’s body of experts who dwell on such weighty matters (As of early this week, U.S. officials reportedly were considering the same move).

According to medical spokespeople commenting for public consumption, monkeypox, as opposed to, say, COVID, is quite difficult to contract, though, its symptoms can often be painful and unattractive. Hospitalizations are uncommon. Death, by all accounts, is not in the cards at all. It is not — repeat, not — another deadly AIDS nightmare.

The website of the federal Centers for Disease Control notes that the general public’s risk of contracting the current version of West African monkeypox is extremely low.

The CDC says the ailment does not spread easily and “over 99% of people who get this form of the disease are likely to survive … it is rarely fatal.” It is no mystery.

By far the one group most likely to be affected by the monkeypox outbreak are men who have sexual contact with other men. And, even for them, the ailment is not the end of the world, although dealing with it in its most active form is no picnic.

So, perhaps, it’s time to ease up on the daily drumbeat of gloom and doom. For the vast bulk of the populace, monkeypox is not a significant health issue in any way, shape or form.

From all of the available evidence, the affliction’s presence is not cause for a concerted fret-storm. Unlike the early days of the AIDS crisis 40 years ago, a vaccine to prevent monkeypox is being made available, albeit rather slowly due to a lack of ready supply. Health authorities here are taking the disease with appropriate seriousness, as they should.

Compassion and a sense of urgency for those affected (and those potentially at risk) are not in short supply this time. They are front and center as public health authorities work to keep the virus at bay.

So any dire comparisons to the earlier AIDS outbreak and its tardy and inadequate response decades ago, primarily in the gay community, are invalid by any objective reading of the scientific data.

It would be more than prudent to lower the decibel level of those daily media alarm bells. By any reasonable measure, the monkeypox outbreak is not an apocalyptic health event.

PLATO YANICKS PASSES AT 90: Sorry to learn of the passing of Plato Yanicks, a former teacher/coach at Hillsdale and Menlo-Atherton high schools. He died this past spring at the age of 90.

A member of the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame, he was a highly successful prep cross country/track and field coach for decades. At Menlo-Atherton where he left his most significant imprint, his teams won 20 league championships.

He was also a Bay Area sports historian of some consequence whose collection of athletic memorabilia was considerable. Plato was an invaluable resource for those interested in the Peninsula’s sporting history. He will be missed.

HEY, NO ONE IS PERFECT: Sometimes, you have to wonder about those in the marketing business.

A truck bearing the name “Imperfect Foods” was spotted in a San Mateo parking lot last week. Somehow, that moniker seemed a bit off-putting.

Turns out the outfit is a San Francisco food delivery service that aims to provide its customers with sustainable grocery items, including some that might have been wasted by food purveyors.

THIS FIREPLACE IS A REAL GAS: Speaking of mixed messages, the local firm that is advertising gas fireplaces apparently did not get the memo indicating the strong community effort to wean folks off the use of natural gas for all time.

Maybe we should describe this state of affairs as an “imperfect sales pitch.”

Contact John Horgan by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.