NYC asks WHO to rename monkeypox to avoid stigmatization

New York City has written to the WHO to act immediately to rename the monkeypox virus, out of concern for the “devastating and stigmatizing effects” the name might have on patients from vulnerable communities.

In a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, NYC health commissioner Ashwin Vasan said that patients might hold off on seeking care given the stigma of the name of the disease, which the WHO declared a global health emergency over the weekend.