Why HHS Is Wrong to Bring Back the Stigmatizing Name Monkeypox
October 1, 2025
The World Health Organization’s 2022 decision to rename “monkeypox” as “mpox” was more than cosmetic. It reduced stigma, built trust with LGBTQ communities most affected by the outbreak, and aligned disease naming with scientific accuracy and dignity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ intent to revert to the old name undermines that progress, creating confusion among providers and patients while wasting resources already invested in outreach and education. Public health depends on clarity and credibility. Reverting to a stigmatizing and misleading name weakens both, jeopardizing trust and response at a time when consistency is critical.
The debate over whether to call the virus “mpox” or “monkeypox” may appear semantic, but in public health, words matter. The World Health Organization’s 2022 renaming of the disease to “mpox” addressed long-standing concerns that the previous label was misleading, stigmatizing, and inconsistent with global disease-naming standards. The old term perpetuated harmful stereotypes, discouraged people from seeking care, and became a barrier to vaccination, testing, and treatment. For communities most affected, particularly LGBTQ people, the change was a signal that their voices were heard, reducing stigma and fostering trust.
Despite this progress, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun reverting to the outdated term “monkeypox” without public explanation. This reversal is not supported by science or global health guidance and risks undermining years of careful work to build clarity and trust. It also carries tangible costs: millions of dollars were spent developing outreach, education, and training materials around “mpox.” Rolling back the terminology wastes those investments and forces health workers to explain to patients why two names are being used for the same disease.
The consequences go beyond confusion. During the 2022 outbreak, the name itself was repeatedly cited as a barrier to care, with people avoiding vaccination sites or fearing ridicule simply for discussing the disease. Returning to stigmatizing language risks recreating those same obstacles, with real costs in terms of transmission, suffering, and preventable deaths.
At a time when mpox outbreaks remain active in Africa and the threat of reintroduction to the U.S. is real, clarity and consistency are essential. Trust is the cornerstone of effective public health. By disregarding both science and community input, HHS threatens to erode that trust, weakening America’s ability to respond to the next crisis.