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Jones, Nadler call for accelerated monkeypox vaccine distribution

More than a million doses remain in Danish warehouse

Published

4 years ago

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Reps. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote a letter Thursday to President Joe Biden urging his administration to make additional efforts to speed the monkeypox vaccination rollout.

There are currently 2,323 reported cases of monkeypox in the U.S., and it is preventable using the smallpox vaccine, cases have been on the rise globally since May. 

Jones and Nadler criticized the “regulatory logjam” in the U.S.’s vaccine distribution — while waiting for and FDA facility inspection, 1.1 million ready-to-deliver doses of U.S.-owned vaccine are currently sitting in a warehouse in Denmark. 

In addition to freeing up already prepared vaccines, Jones and Nadler called upon the Biden administration to rapidly manufacture more doses, since “experts have argued that millions more doses beyond what the administration has already pledged are necessary to sufficiently meet demand.”

They also urged the administration to declare monkeypox a public health emergency, which would unlock additional resources to help the federal government obtain and distribute vaccines around the country. Increased vaccine supply would also help alleviate equity concerns in the government’s monkeypox response, since vaccine appointments and outreach have been sometimes inaccessible to marginalized communities who need them.

“Moving swiftly to get these additional doses out to the public and expanding vaccine production capacity are also critical to ensuring an equitable public health response,” Jones and Nadler wrote. “We are already seeing how limited vaccine supplies are being distributed in overwhelmingly urban, whiter, and wealthier neighborhoods to the detriment of those who tend to have limited access to health care, especially people of color.”

Finally, Jones and Nadler called on the administration to appoint an interagency coordinator to manage the administration’s monkeypox response — and to take point on public messaging reducing anti-LGBTQ stigma about the disease. 

Although recent monkeypox outbreaks have largely affected gay and bisexual men and transgender people, the virus holds serious health risks for pregnant women and pregnant people — a population that could be under-tested if monkeypox is falsely construed as a “gay disease.”

“As the administration works to respond to this monkeypox outbreak, a coordinated campaign of public awareness and messaging to combat any stigmatization and ensure accurate messaging for all populations must be a core part of our efforts,” Jones and Nadler wrote. “An effective response to swiftly curb this outbreak would demonstrate the administration’s commitment to the health and safety of the LGBTQ+ community.”

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Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

2 weeks ago

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August 31, 2026

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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

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Congress

Chris Van Hollen says the Democratic Party needs change. Is he the one to lead it?

Senator is backing anti-establishment Democrats across the country

Published

3 weeks ago

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August 26, 2026

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By LEE O. SANDERLIN | The Democratic Party is having something of an identity crisis — losing to President Donald Trump twice in three elections will do that.

Should the party embrace anti-establishment figures who espouse progressive policy ideas like Medicare for all and rhetoric about unrigging the economy for the 1 percent? Or should Democrats try to appeal to moderates who want to return to semi-normalcy in a time of political upheaval?

Although he’s been in Congress since 2002, with key leadership roles throughout his tenure, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, 67, counts himself firmly in the anti-establishment camp.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Congress

House blocks effort to codify transgender servicemember ban into law

Lawmakers approved two anti-trans NDAA amendments

Published

2 months ago

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July 22, 2026

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The Pentagon (Photo by icholakov/Bigstock)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have codified a ban transgender servicemembers in the military.

The bipartisan vote was 212-217.

The NDAA is for the 2027 fiscal year and sets policies for the Defense Department programs and activities and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) proposed the amendment on July 21. It stated that all personnel are required to serve in accordance with their biological sex, citing military readiness and discipline.

Human Rights Campaign Senior Director of Government Affairs Jennifer Pike Bailey stated that she is grateful for the bipartisan vote that rejected President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “dangerous and discriminatory policy that has kicked brave transgender servicemembers out of the military and weakened our national security.”

“Everyone who meets the same rigorous standards should be able to serve their country. We should honor that patriotism, particularly in this moment where we are witnessing brave servicemembers making the ultimate sacrifice for our country, instead of ending their careers and politicizing their existence. We’re grateful that a permanent extension of this ban failed, and we will keep fighting to reverse this senseless policy,” Bailey said.

Mark Takano, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, stated that he and his members put in countless hours of work to kill the amendment.

“When Americans know they or their families are going to be targeted by or not supported by the military, that leads them to avoid signing up to serve or staying in the service — making it harder to keep the ranks of the armed services full and our nation safe. My colleagues in the Equality Caucus and I will continue working to prevent these attacks on our servicemembers and their families from becoming law,” Takano said.

According to the Congressional Equality Caucus, two other bills could potentially be passed that would also target the transgender community, both of which were proposed by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

The first was a bill that would have prohibited gender-related medical care under TRICARE and to prevent TRICARE from covering certain gender-related medical procedures and treatments, which was approved in a vote of 219-208.

The second was a bill that would have prohibited male participation in female sports at DoDEA schools. DoDEA schools are Department of Defense Dependents Schools, which is a network of primary and secondary schools.

The amendment was approved in a vote of 221-203. 

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