DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County quickly filled out its monkeypox vaccine appointments in the latest availability that was opened Thursday morning.
According to the county, 240 appointments set to take place on Friday were opened up at 7:30 a.m. and were all claimed in 15 minutes.
The vaccination event on Friday will be happening from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at North DeKalb Health Center.
The county had warned beforehand that there might be a rush for vaccination appointments, saying in a release:
"If individuals experience issues with the appointment link, there may be several issues preventing access – your internet connection, the volume of others attempting to access the link, or all appointments having been filled," it said.
DeKalb also said additional vaccine events "will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead."
"Anyone who is unable to register should keep checking the Board of Health’s website and official social media platforms," the county added.
The latest here-and-gone episode with monkeypox vaccine availability around metro Atlanta comes as 11Alive's Karys Belger reported on Wednesday that counties are struggling to keep up with vaccine demand.
A representative with the Georgia State Department of Health told 11Alive that testing and vaccination are available in every health district throughout the state. Vaccines are also being distributed to specific health organizations.
Five commercial laboratories are offering monkeypox testing in Georgia.
11Alive also reached out to the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp. A representative sent a statement saying 34,000 Phase 3 doses are expected in the coming weeks. The state had previously ordered 13,786 doses as part of its Phase 1 and 2 allocations.
The statement said in part:
"DPH and state health experts regularly update the governor on the monkeypox spread, and members of his administration constantly monitor the number of cases, any discernable patterns or trends in those cases, and any associated needs. If and when those medical experts and healthcare professionals identify a new issue related to the spread of monkeypox that is not already addressed by the current State of Emergency Order, we will evaluate further action and if a new State of Emergency is needed."
The Department of Public Health additionally said the federal Department of Health and Human Services allows states to order up to 40% of their dosage allocation right now, which would be 13,648 doses.
"By the end of this week, we will have ordered all 13,648 doses," DPH said.
As of Wednesday, Georgia had the 6th highest rate of monkeypox cases in the U.S. with 504 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cases with higher case counts such as New York and Illinois have declared public health emergencies to address the rising number of cases.