CDC Removes Mpox Safer-Sex Guidance Page Amid Ideological Dispute

The CDC, under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., removed the federal page “Safer Sex, Social Gatherings, and Monkeypox.” On Thursday the URL displayed a “page not found” notice. An archived May 11 version offered risk-reduction advice for Pride events, sex clubs, festivals, hookups, and intimate contact, urging vaccination, symptom-based abstinence, cleaning fabrics and sex toys, exchanging partner information, and limiting skin-to-skin exposure in venues such as back rooms, saunas, and private sex parties. PDFs linked from the page remain on CDC servers.

The Advocate

In July, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled in *Doctors for America v. OPM* that the Trump administration likely violated federal law by removing LGBTQ+, HIV, adolescent health, and infectious-disease information. He vacated the removal directives and ordered agencies to restore the content, including mpox materials. The new deletion raises compliance questions.

The Advocate

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (HHS Secretary), Dr. Demetre Daskalakis (Callen-Lorde chief medical officer, former CDC director), an unnamed HHS spokesperson, Jared Todd (Human Rights Campaign spokesperson), and Dr. Reshma Ramachandran (Doctors for America board member) are the principal figures mentioned.

The Advocate

An HHS spokesperson told *The Advocate* the page “was not medically accurate, and does not align with Administration priorities.” No specifics were given, and the spokesperson declined to address whether the removal complies with Judge Bates’s order. The PDFs remain on CDC servers, leaving the deletion’s scope unclear.

The Advocate

Dr. Daskalakis said the removal amounted to treason against public health, arguing it was a deliberate act that conflicted with the administration’s priorities and signaled an abandonment of the agency’s public-health mission in favor of ideology. Dr. Ramachandran argued the decision lacked scientific justification and violated the spirit of the court’s order. Jared Todd warned that the episode creates a perilous situation for public health and underscored the historic marginalization of BIPOC, transgender, and nonbinary communities.

The Advocate

• “This is in effect high public health treason,” — Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Chief Medical Officer, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

The Advocate

• “They purposely took it down because it doesn’t comport with the administration’s priorities.” — Dr. Demetre Daskalakis

The Advocate

• “We’re in a dangerous moment for public health,” — Jared Todd, Spokesperson, Human Rights Campaign

The Advocate

• “The fact that there’s not a scientific basis seemingly for removing such a page, and it’s really very much steeped in ideology … definitely runs afoul, at least to the spirit of the case that we brought before the courts,” — Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, Physician, Doctors for America

The Advocate

Doctors for America and the Public Citizen Litigation Group continue to monitor federal webpages. Legal scholars say further lawsuits may arise if agencies are found non-compliant with Judge Bates’s order. Community groups plan to circulate alternative guidance while urging restoration of the removed page.

The Advocate