‘Last Week Tonight’: John Oliver Shares Frustration Over ‘Key Mistakes’ In Managing Monkeypox Outbreak
08.08.2022 - 08:15
/ deadline.com
John Oliver addressed the increasing numbers of monkeypox cases in the U.S. on Sunday night’s episode of HBO Max’s Last Week Tonight. The comedian expressed his frustration that “despite the fact we’re still in the middle of the COVID pandemic, we seem to be replicating some of its key mistakes.”
Oliver listed that some of the factors that don’t contribute to getting a hold of the monkeypox outbreak include “persecuting strangers, spreading misinformation, and badly mismanaging the public health response.”
The talk show host explained that monkeypox is a “pox virus” and “part of the same family as smallpox” but not as transmissible or as fatal. It was in 1958 that monkeypox was first discovered in captivated monkeys in Denmark that “like got them from rodents.” Oliver then shared an ABC News report from 2003 talking about a monkeypox outbreak that was linked to pet prairie dogs in the midwest.
California declared a State of Emergency on August 1st after recording close to 800 cases and the U.S. followed suit declaring a Health Emergency after cases topped 7,000 across the nation.
Oliver detailed that a majority of cases recorded as of now are “among gay and bisexual men and their sexual networks. The virus spreads through sustained skin-to-skin contact and it is currently believed to be spreading most commonly during sex, though in rare cases it can be spread through respiratory droplets.”
Despite knowing about the virus and having some tools to control a widespread outbreak, Oliver called out the fumbled containment of the virus.
“As of early June, we were only conducting 10 tests per day in total across the country — increasing to just 60 by the end of the month,” Oliver said.
Although testing has ramped up, the only
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