This week the Biden-Harris administration announced its national monkeypox vaccine strategy. It includes providing vaccines to individuals at high risk

In Georgia, there are now seven confirmed cases of monkeypox. On Tuesday, there were five.

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Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke with infectious disease doctors about the virus and its symptoms.

“Lesions... can occur on your hands and on your torso and on your face,” said Dr. Jayne Morgan, clinical director of the COVID-19 task force for Piedmont Healthcare System.

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According to physicians, the virus originates in rodents and can jump into monkeys and humans. Doctors said monkeypox is spread through aerosol droplets and skin-to-skin contact, especially intimate contact.

“We are seeing outbreaks in communities where men have sex with men,” Morgan said. “And this doesn’t mean this is a sexually transmitted disease. It means that it’s sexually transmissible.”

“You shouldn’t be in close skin contact with somebody who has infected lesions,” explained Dr. Carlos del Rio, professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine.

Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention activated its emergency operations center in response to the monkeypox virus.

“Human-to-human contact, try to maintain that six-feet distance,” Morgan said.

“If you have any unusual bumps on your skin or genital area, you need to seek medical attention right away,” del Rio said.

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