More monkeypox vaccines expected to head to Georgia amid rising cases, demand

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Health organizations across Georgia are dealing with a rising demand for monkeypox vaccines while supplies remain limited.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday, Georgia now has 330 confirmed cases of the virus.

That leaves the Peach State continuing to have the fifth-most cases in the country, trailing only Florida, Illinois, California, and New York.

The Georgia Department of Health says many of the cases in the state are in the metro Atlanta area.

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A photograph shows doses of Imvanex vaccine used to protect against Monkeypox virus at the Edison municipal vaccination center in Paris. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

That's why health leaders are focusing vaccination efforts in five metro counties - Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton.

DeKalb County health officials are opening the first mass monkeypox vaccination clinic in the state Friday.

These vaccination spots have been in high demand. Not only did the 200 spots fill in just four minutes, so did all the vaccine appointments at all the DeKalb County Board of Health Centers. The waitlist is also filled up.

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But, despite the virus triggering a global health emergency, federal health officials did have some good news.

Around 800,000 more doses of the vaccine are expected to be available today. Georgia is allocated more than 34,000 doses - a big increase from the roughly 14,000 doses that had been previously allocated to the state earlier this week.

Though those will take time to get to major metro Atlanta areas in order to provide enough doses to meet the demand.

Because demand is outpacing supply, health officials are recommending the vaccine is given on a priority basis. People with close personal contact with people who have the virus, or who might have been exposed to it, or people with an increased risk of being exposed to the virus are encouraged to sign up first.

What are the symptoms of monkeypox, and how is it spread?

Most monkeypox patients experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body. 

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The disease is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. It does not usually spread easily among people.

In June, cases began emerging in Europe and the United States. Many — but not all — of those who contracted the virus had traveled internationally. Most were men who have sex with men, but health officials stress that anyone can get monkeypox.

The disease can be spread through close, personal, skin-to-skin contact including direct contact with rashes or sores, contact with objects or fabric that ave been used by someone with monkeypox, or respiratory droplets or oral fluids.

There have been no U.S. deaths and officials say the risk to the American public is low. But they are taking steps to assure people that medical measures are in place to deal with the growing problem.

A two-dose vaccine, Jynneos, is approved for monkeypox in the U.S. The government has many more doses of an older smallpox vaccine — ACAM2000 — that they say could also be used, but that vaccine is considered to have a greater risk of side effects and is not recommended for people who have HIV. So it’s the Jynneos vaccine that officials have been trying to use as a primary weapon against the monkeypox outbreak.

The administration said it was expanding the pool of people who are advised to get vaccinated to include those who may realize on their own that they could have been infected. That includes men who have recently had sex with men at parties or in other gatherings in cities where monkeypox cases have been identified.

Anyone with a rash that looks like monkeypox should talk to their healthcare provider, even if you do not believe you have had contact with anyone who has contracted the virus. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.