Hundreds in DeKalb County line up for monkeypox vaccine

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Many people said getting the vaccine was about keeping themselves and others safe.

“I think it’s very important to get vaccinated,” Patrick Sutton said. “I have an older mom, older family members and I want to make sure, that I’m protecting them as well as myself.”

Sutton was one of the hundreds of people who made an appointment and received the monkeypox vaccine Friday.

Several vaccine clinics were held throughout the area by the DeKalb County Board of Health.

“Although vaccine supplies are very limited at this time, as soon as we can the vaccine it’s important for us to get those vaccines in arms,” Eric Nickens with DeKalb County Board of Health said.

The 300 vaccines that were allocated for DeKalb County are already spoken for.

“We also had a waiting list and we had to cap that waiting list because there were upwards to 800 people on it,” Nickens said.

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• Monkeypox: World Health Organization declares virus a global emergency

Just a few days ago, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

According to the CDC, in the United States there are more than 4,900 cases. In Georgia, there are now more than 325 monkeypox cases.

Infectious disease doctors advise that the virus is highly contagious and can spread through skin-to-skin contact, as well as sexual contact.

“I feel like if we don’t get a hold of it, it’s going to be live COVID 2.0 except this time it’ll be monkeypox,” Sutton said.

DeKalb County officials say they are working on more vaccination clinics.

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