Vaccine use is rising but Georgia 'mpox' cases remain among highest in U.S.

December 7th, 2022

A person receives the monkeypox vaccine during a mass vaccination clinic at the DeKalb County Board of Health North DeKalb Health Center in Chamblee on Friday, August 5, 2022. (Dean Hesse/Decaturish)

The Atlanta-based United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is updating its monkeypox information websites with the term “mpox” as part of an effort to reduce stigma. Health experts promote the new term to help mitigate the usage of racist or stigmatizing language surrounding monkeypox.

The move follows a recent recommendation by the World Health Organization as the number of cases in the U.S. continues to decline amid growing supplies of the mpox vaccine.

But, while cases have fallen since the summer, Georgia remains among the states with the highest number of infections, according to state data from the CDC.

The latest numbers from the Georgia Department of Public Health show the state with more than 1,900 cases.

Almost all cases continue to be among men. Roughly three-quarters of cases are among Black Georgians. Most are located around the Atlanta metro area.

DPH reports that almost 19,000 people across the state so far have received both doses of the two-dose mpox vaccine. More than 27,000 have received the first shot.

The Jynneos vaccine is more widely accessible in Georgia and the U.S. after dramatic treatment shortages at the height of the outbreak.

Nationally, there are nearly 30,000 cases of the disease.