Montclair councilman Peter Yacobellis is concerned about monkeypox, both as a gay man and an elected official. Here’s why.

Peter Yacobellis is concerned about monkeypox, both as a gay man and an elected official. But it’s not just the disease’s potential health effects the Montclair councilman is worried about – it’s society’s response to it.

Yacobellis, a longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights in Essex County, recently outlined some of his concerns about monkeypox, including its impact on the gay community.

“As a gay man, seeing this disease impact my community disproportionately, I’m concerned that the government response has been inadequate and state and federal officials need to step it up,” Yacobellis wrote in an email on Tuesday.