With monkeypox, let’s not let the stupidity that hurt us with COVID strike again

Please people, no monkeypox parties or talks of “herd immunity.”

We aren’t animals. Now that South Carolina has its first reported cases of monkeypox, let’s not throw our rational brain parts into the Congaree River like we did with COVID.

Maybe the name monkeypox, which sounds far more scary than coronavirus, will stop all the insanity before it begins. Compared to monkeypox, coronavirus sounds like a natural phenomenon you experience during a beach sunset.

Here’s a list of poor practices during COVID’s initial outbreak that South Carolinians should avoid:

▪ Listening to politicians and celebrities instead of medical professionals

▪ Injecting bleach or using other folk cures, or considering putting a UV light tube into orifices

▪ Taking drugs based on social media rather than scientific research

▪ Believing that 5G cell phone signals spread the disease

▪ Doing a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” as famous people did from their mansions over Zoom.

▪ Denying the new disease exists while simultaneously blaming another country for its existence

▪ Thinking that the changing seasons will kill the disease

▪ Letting a disease take away our ability to see humanity in each other

Lucky for us, vaccines already exist for monkeypox, according to medical professionals. Please don’t rage about the vaccines. Rather, consult with your health care provider about whether you should get a vaccine.

In another lucky stroke, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and other national medical agencies have said monkeypox is rare and doesn’t spread easily.

But stupidity spreads easily. Don’t let it take us again.