Assessment of mpox awareness, attitudes, and vaccination intent among the United States public following an outbreak of mpox clade Ib in Africa.

Abstract

During the global outbreak of Clade IIb mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) in 2022, a survey of the US adult population (18+) found that knowledge of mpox and intention to vaccinate against it were low. Given the ongoing surge of Clade Ib in Africa, and recent reports of cases outside of Africa and in the US, we conducted a similar survey to assess whether US adult knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards mpox have changed since 2022. The survey, hosted by online survey company CloudResearch, asked questions about mpox awareness, risk perception, intention to vaccinate, and trusted sources of information. We found that 58% (95% CI 52–62) of US adults would be willing to receive the mpox vaccine if recommended by their doctor or health authority, a 12% increase from our 2022 results. Respondents from Health and Humans Services (HHS) Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) were least likely to receive the vaccine, even if recommended to do so. Self-reported knowledge of mpox (40%), as well as perceived self-efficacy (55%) and mean risk perception (3.2) have also increased since the 2022 survey. Healthcare professionals remain the most trusted source of information (73%), and trust in the US government to provide accurate information has increased (58%). These results highlight the need for ongoing education among US adults to improve awarness of and vaccination intention for the mpox vaccine. The consistently high degrees of trust placed in healthcare professionals and officials should guide future communications about mpox and other infectious diseases, and reinforce the importance of leveraging trusted sources to share essential public health information.