CDC assures no school shutdowns for Mpox outbreak despite misinformation
Despite misinformation spreading online, federal health officials do not anticipate that mpox cases will lead to Covid-level school lockdowns.
Since the World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency last week, familiar fears of school shutdowns have ricocheted across social media, striking a nerve with many U.S. students who remember all too well the 2020 Covid lockdowns.
“I’M NOT MISSING SENIOR YEAR BC OF MONKEYPOX,” one person wrote in the caption of a TikTok video with nearly 1 million views.
In another, a remix of “Forever Young” plays as the text “2024: ‘did you see they shut down some schools,’” appears on the screen. The video has more than 8 million views. “I swear if it’s another lockdown I’ll cry,” someone replied in the comments.
Kids “have been through this before,” said Dr. Michelle Taylor, director and health officer of the Shelby County Health Department in Memphis, Tennessee. “They don’t want to go through it again.”
While the mpox outbreak in Africa is worrisome, federal health officials insist that this virus is dramatically different than Covid, and is highly unlikely to lead to school closures.
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