Surveys show differing attitudes toward monkeypox vaccination – CIDRAP

Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for the vast majority of US monkeypox cases, and a new survey shows urban versus rural MSM have significantly different attitudes about vaccination and disease prevention. The survey results are published in The Journal of Rural Health.

The study participants were recruited in August of 2022 from the gay dating app Grindr. A total of 582 men answered questions about geographic location, experience with monkeypox infections, attitude surrounding vaccination, and sexual behavior.

Most of the participants were urban residents (71.8%) and 28.2% were rural, with 61.3% identifying as white, and 64.4% reporting having a bachelor’s degree or higher. Over two-thirds of participants had oral sex (86.8%) and condomless anal sex (67.9%) with a nonprimary male sex partner in the past 6 months, the authors said, and 95.2% had heard of monkeypox.

More than three-quarters of the participants (77.1%) had not been vaccinated against monkeypox, but urban residents were less likely to believe that they were at risk for the virus compared to urban dwellers. Rural residents also reported more perceived barriers to accessing the vaccine.

In another new study based on a survey of mostly MSM British men, authors found vaccine acceptability to be very high (86%), but overall participants said they had low (34%) understanding of public health knowledge. That study was published in HIV Medicine.

The study was based on 1,932 survey respondents, 1,750 of whom identified as men, 88 as women, and 64 as gender non-conforming. The goal of the survey was to understand the public response to public health and media messaging during the monkeypox outbreak of 2022. A total of 80% of participants identified as gay, bisexual (12%), heterosexual (4%), and pansexual (2%).

Overall, 52% of respondents considered themselves at risk, 61% agreed that people with monkeypox should isolate for 21 days, 49% reported they would first attend a sexual health clinic if symptomatic, and 86% reported they would accept a vaccine.