ATLANTA – Monkeypox vaccines from the federal government began arriving in Georgia Friday, the state Department of Public Health (DPH) announced.
The 3,000 Jynneos vaccines received so far are enough to vaccinate 1,500 people, agency spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said. A full vaccination requires two doses 28 days apart.
So far, 93 people with confirmed monkeypox cases have been identified in Georgia, all among men in metro Atlanta, Nydam said. Most are men who have sex with men.
That represents a significant increase over about 40 monkeypox cases identified just last Tuesday at the DPH board meeting during a presentation by state epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek.
The Jynneos monkeypox vaccines have been sent to health departments that have requested them and will also be distributed at two vaccine events, Nydam said.
Distribution at first will be focused on the metro region’s core counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton, she said.
The Jynneos vaccine was chosen because of its better safety profile, chief medical officer Dr. Alexander Millman said at the state board of public health meeting Tuesday.
Georgia is following the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines that suggest vaccinating high-risk individuals first, Nydam said.
“Vaccination may be recommended for people who are close personal contacts of people with monkeypox, individuals who may have been exposed to monkeypox, or people who have increased risk of being exposed to the virus such as lab workers,” she said.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that causes the skin to break out in pustules. The disease is usually mild but can be life threatening in some cases.
The current global outbreak is unusual because most of the recently reported cases are being identified in countries where the disease is not typically found, mostly in European countries including Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom – and the United States.
“This is the first time that local transmission of monkeypox has been reported in newly affected countries without epidemiological links to countries that have previously reported monkeypox in West or Central Africa,” according to a World Health Organization external situation report dated July 6.
Nydam said monkeypox is not transmitted like COVID but rather through close, skin-to-skin contact with people who have monkeypox.
“While many of those affected in the current global outbreaks are gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men, anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox can get the illness,” Nydam said.
The DPH announced the first case of monkeypox in Georgia June 1. According to CDC data posted this week, Georgia’s 96 cases put it fourth in the country after New York, California, and Illinois.
Georgia is expected to receive additional vaccines from the federal government later this summer “as production of the vaccine ramps up,” Nydam said.
In the meantime, Nydam said, people who think they may have been exposed to monkeypox should contact their health-care provider.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.