When the World Health Organization (WHO) renamed “monkeypox” to “mpox” in 2022, we saw firsthand that the decision was more than cosmetic. As leaders of the Biden Administration’s White House response team, we sat in real and virtual meeting rooms with community leaders, patients, public health officials, and clinicians who all told us the same thing: The old name carried stigma and confusion, making people less likely to get vaccinated, tested, or seek treatment.

The modernized name, mpox, offered something rare in a health crisis—clarity and dignity for those over-represented in the outbreak as a key tool to stop the spread of disease. Reverting back to “monkeypox” erodes that progress, undermines the fragile trust we worked hard to build, and adds confusion at a moment when clear commu

See Full Page