Across Central Florida and Tampa Bay, LGBTQ+ Pride means many things — from Orlando where crowds gather around Lake Eola in October to St. Peterburg’s Grand Central District and the Ybor celebration that makes Pride in Tampa a statewide anchor.
Together, these moments form something larger than any one city. They’re a reflection of how community endures, even in a state where visibility can sometimes feel like resistance. And it’s here that the words of past Prides — like Orlando’s “We the People” — still ring true, even today. Affirmations that community and care go hand-in-hand, and that health belongs to everyone.
Signals Beyond the Celebrations
That same central spirit continues to guide how LGBTQ+ communities confront ongoing public health challenges like mpox (formerly known as monkeypox). By late October 2025, Florida reported 78 mpox cases, including 26 across greater Central Florida (factoring in Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg). That’s progress, but not closure — and for a virus that isn’t necessarily considered a sexually transmitted infection, the patterns are clear: when bodies come together, especially in ways that involve sustained skin-to-skin exposure and the virus is present, transmission can (and does) happen.
All of this underscores why a broad network of LGBTQ+ and HIV service providers across Greater Central Florida play such vital roles in keeping health conversations moving. Clinics like 26Health and Miracle of Love in Orlando, Metro Healthy Communities across Tampa Bay, and Hope & Help in Sanford continue to provide mpox vaccination, treatment and prevention education alongside their HIV and sexual health programs.
Community partners like The Center Orlando, Empath Partners in Care and the Orlando Youth Alliance help connect people to those services, ensuring no one is left out of care or conversation.
A person might first come for an HIV test or a mental health check-in, and that moment of trust opens the door to talk about mpox vaccination or how to navigate a confusing health system. Even without an active mpox outbreak, prevention still depends on consistent access and affordability in care built by trusted networks and providers.
Still Impactful
Most cases — since 2022 and on — have involved gay, bisexual, and same-gender-loving men, as well as transgender and nonbinary people. Those who are immunocompromised and living with uncontrolled HIV — often facing ongoing challenges to care — have been hit particularly hard. Across these groups, many — but not all — develop a rash or small, painful sores (like blisters) that can last two to four weeks. Some describe it as feeling like the flu at first — with fatigue, fever or body aches before the rash appears.
All have been linked to Clade II, the milder strain still circulating in the U.S., with a few confirmed Clade I (or Ib—the more severe strain) infections in Long Beach and Los Angeles, California (September 2025) in people who had no recent travel history. Prior wastewater detections of Clade I in Tacoma, WA, and Charlotte, NC, could suggest possible undiagnosed transmission, despite no reported cases. It’s a reminder that real preparedness means keeping education active, vaccination routine, and trust between providers and communities strong.
Keeping Prevention Routine
Getting vaccinated for mpox (or any FDA-approved vaccine, for that matter) shouldn’t feel like an event; it should be as ordinary as managing a refill or picking up groceries on the way home. The same mindset applies to primary, mental and behavioral health, where steady access matters as much as urgency. Building care that lasts beyond crisis response means doing simple things well, like training affirming clinicians, funding local peer navigators and creating spaces where people can ask questions without fear of stigma. That’s the heart of community-based healthcare.
LGBTQ+ Pride as Public Health
These same networks sustain Central Florida and Tampa Bay’s health response, linking mpox vaccination to HIV care, mental health support, and housing navigation for people living with HIV. In a state where LGBTQ+ programs face shrinking budgets and growing restrictions, that flexibility is what keeps communities ready — proving that LGBTQ+ Pride here isn’t just celebration, it’s the infrastructure of care — and with mpox, it’s fundamental.
Scott Bertani is Director of Advocacy for The National Coalition for LGBTQ Health, which represents the entire LGBTQ+ community, including clinicians, researchers, service providers, and advocates who serve individuals of every sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, and age, regardless of disability, income, education, and geography.
The Coalition works to improve LGBTQ health through advocacy, medical and consumer education, communications, capacity building and health services research. It hosts the national Mpox Resource Center and leads The Q National LGBTQ Health Training Center. Learn more at HealthLGBTQ.org.
This story was originally published in Watermark Out News’ 2025 Q-Health Guide. Read the digital edition here.
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