1 In 5 Americans Fear Getting Mpox

Author: Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Published: 2022/07/29 - Updated: 2025/08/28
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed, Survey, Analysis
Category Topic: Mpox Virus - Academic Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This peer-reviewed research from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania reveals significant gaps in American public understanding of mpox during the 2022 outbreak. The nationally representative survey of 1,580 adults found that while 80% had heard about mpox, nearly one in five Americans expressed concern about contracting the virus in the coming months, despite many lacking basic knowledge about transmission, prevention, and available vaccines. The study's authority stems from its rigorous methodology, statistical significance, and academic peer-review process, making it particularly valuable for vulnerable populations including seniors and people with disabilities who may face heightened health risks and need accurate information to make informed decisions about protective measures and vaccination priorities - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

As Covid-19 cases surge across the United States dominated by a highly transmissible subvariant and worry about Covid persists, some in the public have begun to voice concern about the new health threat of mpox, according to a new Annenberg Public Policy Center national survey.

Main Content

While 1 in 3 Americans worry about getting Covid-19 in the next three months, according to the July survey, nearly 1 in 5 are concerned about contracting mpox, a disease endemic in parts of Africa whose spread to 75 countries across the globe led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency on July 23, days after the survey was completed.

The nationally representative panel of 1,580 U.S. adults surveyed by SSRS for the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania from July 12-18, 2022, was the seventh wave of an Annenberg Science Knowledge (ASK) survey whose respondents were first empaneled in April 2021. The margin of sampling error (MOE) is ± 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See appendix and methodology for additional information.

The survey answers such questions as:

• How worried is the public about becoming infected with Covid-19 or mpox?
• Does the public possess a basic knowledge about mpox?
• How widespread is misinformation about mpox?

Highlights

Conducted amid escalating cases of the coronavirus BA.5 omicron subvariant and the spread of mpox cases, the survey found that many people (80%) had seen, read, or heard something about mpox in the past month, but many lacked knowledge about the disease:

• 19% of Americans are worried about getting mpox in the next three months.
• 30% of those surveyed are worried about getting Covid-19 over the next three months.
• Nearly half (48%) are unsure whether mpox is less contagious than Covid.
• Two-thirds (66%) either are not sure or do not believe there is a vaccine for mpox.

"It's important that the public calibrate its concerns to the reality of the risk of Covid-19 and mpox and act appropriately," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Mpox Concerns

Mpox, a rare disease caused by an orthopoxvirus, is a less deadly member of the same family of viruses as smallpox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The disease, discovered in 1958, is typically characterized by rashes, according to the CDC, and is transmitted person-to-person by direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids, respiratory secretions, touching items that touched the infectious body fluid, by a pregnant person to a fetus through the placenta, or to and from infected animals.

In the current mpox outbreak, about 2,900 cases were reported in the United States as of June 22, and more than 16,000 cases have been reported in 75 countries, according to the WHO.

Among the survey findings:

• Worry about contracting mpox: About 1 in 5 of those surveyed (19%) are somewhat (14%) or very worried (5%) about getting mpox in the next three months, while 81% are not too (41%) or not at all worried (40%).
• Women are more worried about contracting mpox than men: Though the vast majority of cases to date in the United States are among men who have sex with men, 23% of women worry about contracting mpox vs. 15% of men.
• Covid-19: More Americans (30%) worry about getting Covid in the next three months, with 24% somewhat worried and 6% very worried.
• Women are also more worried about Covid-19 than men: 33% of women are worried about contracting Covid vs. 27% of men.

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Mpox Knowledge

While many Americans are generally familiar with mpox, significant parts of the public lack important information about the disease - and how to protect themselves:

• Knowing how mpox spreads: A large majority (69%) knows that mpox usually spreads by close contact with an infected person. However, a quarter of those surveyed (26%) are unsure whether that is true or false.
• Most do not know a mpox vaccine exists: In all, 2 in 3 Americans (66%) either are not sure (51%) whether a vaccine for mpox exists or do not think it exists at all (15%). One in 3 people (34%) correctly know that a vaccine for mpox exists. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed a vaccine for preventing mpox infection, and a vaccine licensed for smallpox is also available to prevent mpox infection, according to the CDC.
• Which is more contagious: Mpox or Covid? More than a third of those surveyed (36%) know that mpox is less contagious than Covid-19. But 14% incorrectly say mpox is just about as contagious as Covid-19, and nearly half (48%) are unsure. The CDC says mpox "is not known to linger in the air and is not transmitted during short periods of shared airspace" but through direct contact with an infected individual or materials that have touched body fluids or sores or through respiratory secretions during "close, face-to-face contact." An infectious disease expert, Anne Rimoin, told Vox that mpox is "not as highly transmissible as something like smallpox, or measles, or certainly not Covid."
• Mpox and the Covid-19 vaccine: Most people (67%) say they think that getting a Covid-19 vaccine does not increase the likelihood of getting mpox, though over a quarter of respondents (28%) are not sure. There is no evidence to suggest this is true.
• Are people who have had Covid-19 at higher risk? A third of people (33%) report that having had Covid-19 does not in itself put one at a higher risk of infection with mpox, though nearly two-thirds (63%) are not sure if this is true. There is no evidence to suggest that having had Covid increases the risk of contracting mpox.
• Higher risk for people working with animals? Asked if the CDC advises that people who work with animals are at a higher risk of mpox, less than 1 in 10 respondents (9%) say yes. A third (34%) say no, while over half (57%) are unsure. Although the current outbreak involves human-to-human transmission, a 2003 outbreak in domesticated prairie dogs led to 47 U.S. human cases. Mpox can infect a range of mammals, including monkeys, anteaters, hedgehogs, prairie dogs, squirrels, and shrews. Infected animals can spread the virus to people, and it is possible that people who are infected can spread the virus to animals, says the CDC, which lists among higher-risk people who might consider vaccination "laboratory workers who handle culture or animals with orthopoxviruses."
• Higher risk for men who have sex with men? When asked whether the CDC advises that men who have sex with men are at a higher risk of infection with mpox, a third of those surveyed (33%) said yes. Two-thirds (66%) either said this is false or they did not know. The WHO says cases outside Africa in this outbreak have been mainly among men having sex with men while cautioning that there is no evidence to suggest it will remain confined within those groups. In a Washington Post interview, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said men who have sex with men are "the community most at risk."

"The time to reduce susceptibility to misinformation about mpox is now," Jamieson said. "It is critically important that public health professionals offer anxious individuals accurate information about the ways in which this virus is transmitted and infection prevented. Vaccinating those who are at highest risk should be a national priority."

Mpox Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories

"As one would expect, conspiracy theorists have incorporated mpox into their pre-existing beliefs that, instead of emerging through natural processes, a spreading virus must have been bioengineered, intentionally released to accomplish a political objective, or is the byproduct of exposure to a pervasive new technology such as 5G," said Jamieson.

Most Americans reject conspiracy theories alleging that mpox was bioengineered in a lab or was intentionally released. However, here, too, the Annenberg ASK survey found that alarming numbers have either accepted one of four conspiracy theories or are unsure whether they are true or false.

• Bioengineered in a lab: Over half of those surveyed (54%) reject as false the idea that mpox was bioengineered in a lab, though a third (34%) are not sure if that is true or false, and 12% say this is probably or definitely true. There is no evidence of this.
• Of the small minority who believe that mpox was bioengineered in a lab, 56% say the lab was in China; 16% say the United States; 15% Russia; 12% some other country.
• Intentional release (asked of a half-sample, MOE = ± 4.7 percentage points): Over half (56%) said that it was definitely or probably false to state that mpox was intentionally released, though 30% were not sure, and 14% thought that was probably or definitely true. There is no evidence of this.
• Released to help Biden (asked of a half-sample, MOE = ± 4.7 percentage points): 71% reject as false the statement that mpox was intentionally released by scientists to deflect attention from the failures of the Biden administration. However, 19% said they were unsure whether this is true or false, and 10% said it was probably or definitely true. There is no evidence of this.
• Caused by exposure to 5G: A large majority (78%) correctly said it is false to assert that mpox is caused by exposure to a 5G signal, though 21% were unsure.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania and published on 2022/07/29, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.