The numbers of the monkeypox virus are forcing the White House to act, announcing Tuesday, June 28, that it will begin distributing doses of monkeypox vaccine across the country to combat the spread of the virus, focusing on those most at risk and areas with the highest number of cases.

The Department of Health and Human Services will immediately send 56,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to high transmission areas and 240,000 more doses will be distributed over the next several weeks, with more to come this summer and fall.

The White House said a total of 1.6 million additional combined doses will be available in the coming months. The states with the most cases of monkeypox are California, New York, Illinois and Florida, as well as Washington, D.C., according to the latest count from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“We recommend that vaccines be given to both people who are known to have been exposed to monkeypox and have been contacted by public health and those who have recently been exposed to the virus,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

Since the first case of monkeypox was confirmed in the U.S. on May 18, there have been 306 as of Tuesday, June 28, in 28 states, according to the latest CDC data.