On July 22, 2022, the surveillance director for New York City Health Department’s Communicable Diseases Division, Dr. Don Weiss, was reassigned after publicly criticizing the city’s monkeypox messaging. Dr. Weiss was transferred to the Division of Family and Child Health.
Prior to his transfer, Dr. Weiss shared his concerns about the Health Department’s monkeypox messaging with the New York Times. Dr. Weiss communicated with Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and eight senior managers that he was working with the Times in an email. In his email, Dr. Weiss stated the importance of informing men who have sex with other men, a group that has been disproportionately affected by the virus, to temporarily limit their number of partners to reduce transmission. Dr. Weiss emphasized that this is the best way to reduce the spread of the virus. Dr. Weiss’ email conveyed his frustration with city officials who rejected Dr. Weiss’ suggestion, and instead only advised men who have sex with other men to “avoid kissing” and “cover up their sores.” It was later reported that the City did not want to advise the men to limit their number of partners for fear of stigmatization. The World Health Organization later agreed with Weiss’ advice, encouraging men who have sex with men to temporarily adopt habits including “reducing your number of partners, reconsidering sex with new partners and exchanging contact details with any new partners” during a media briefing on July 27, 2022.