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With mpox cases on the rise, advocates urge vaccinations to avoid potential resurgence
More than two years since the initial mpox outbreak, cases are trending up again — and the word still hasn’t gotten out to everyone at risk.
Public health officials came armed with a serious message: Get vaccinated.
“Since mpox is not really in the news right now, they don’t necessarily feel a need,” Army Cachero told CBS News.
Cachero and the public health outreach team at the University of California, Los Angeles are concerned about a resurgence of mpox, which broke out across the U.S. and other countries in 2022. Only 23% of those at risk nationwide are vaccinated.
The symptoms of the virus include severe rash and blistering, body aches and fever — and it can be deadly.
Jose Velasquez didn’t need his arm twisted to roll up his sleeve. He remembers the fear and pain of being infected with mpox in 2022.
“I was actually hospitalized. I got to the point that my lymph nodes were really swollen,” Velasquez said. With the shot, he says, “I feel a little relieved.”
Men who have sex with men and trans women are at highest risk. But there are barriers to getting the most vulnerable protected with the highly effective two-dose vaccine.
Cachero says misinformation, lack of health care and lack of trust all play a role in why vaccination rates are lower among people of color.
Across the country, public health officials are scrambling to prevent a repeat of the panic and confusion of the summer of 2022.
Nick Diamond and his husband, Keletso Makofane, are public health advocates in New York.
“I think it’s really personal because it’s our friends and our neighbors who are concerned about infection,” Diamond said.
Their research found that many people at risk connect online and hook up in private homes — and that public health messaging must adapt.
“That requires new thinking, that requires collaboration and that requires urgency and speed. If we don’t build that muscle, we are going to suffer more than we need to suffer,” Makofane said.
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.
