On the first day of increased vaccine eligibility across the state of Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp arrived for a tour of the Habersham County mass vaccination site around 8:15 a.m. Monday. Kemp met with Habersham commissioners, public safety officials, National Guard members, and GEMA/HS organizers. The Habersham vaccination site administered its 10,000th dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine with the governor present, and Kemp is pleased with the progress the Georgia vaccination sites have made.
“We’re now over 900,000 seniors that have one dose or more [of the vaccine], that is 64 percent of Georgia’s elderly population,” Kemp said during the press conference. “The national average that has been vaccinated is 58 percent, so we are leading the way right here in Georgia and protecting the most vulnerable.”
Kemp noted that 77 percent of deaths from COVID-19 have been people over 65 years old; according to the governor, the vaccine sites’ goal is to save lives and protect hospitals.
“We’re seeing that this is working; Georgia […] is following the [CDC] guidelines, wearing their masks, socially distancing when they can, following the executive orders that we have in place, as well as the number of people that have gotten vaccinated now, we’re seeing that have a positive effect.”
The governor noted that, as of Monday morning, there were 1,603 COVID patients hospitalized in Georgia. That accounts for approximately 11 percent of current hospital admissions in the state. He reminded those gathered that just over a month ago, 31 percent of Georgia’s hospitalizations were COVID [cases].
“Now we’re at 11 [percent],” he said. “That’s the lowest that we’ve had since Nov. 10.”
Georgia’s overall test positivity rate was down Monday to 6.1 percent, the lowest since mid-October. The governor says it’s evidence mitigation measures – and the vaccine – are working.
“So what we are doing is working; we have to continue to keep our foot on the gas,” Kemp urges.
Habersham site “built to expand”
GEMA officials feel confident they can increase the number of vaccinations they administer if they can get more supplies, and Kemp says that an increase is coming in the next few weeks or months.
“That day is coming,” he says. “When we get it, we’ll increase supply here, and instead of 1,100 [vaccines] a day, we’ll do 2,200, 3,300 a day. These sites are built to expand, and that day is coming.”
As to how Habersham’s vaccination site compares to the others in the state, Kemp jokes that Habersham’s is colder. He says people expected the site at the Delta Museum and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to be swamped because it’s in metro Atlanta, but some had their doubts about Habersham.
“This site has been unbelievable,” he says. “I think some people wondered early on why we were putting a site up in Habersham County, but it’s all based on data and making the vaccine available to all parts of our state. The location of this site, the cooperation we’ve had with the county government, the physical space that we’re in is perfect for this, […] this [site] is doing exactly what we thought it would do, running at full capacity just about every day.”
Kemp says that no dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Habersham site has gone to waste.
“We want every shot, every dose we have, to go into somebody’s arm. It’s been fantastic; I couldn’t be more thankful and pleased with how [the Habersham vaccination site] is operating.”
This article has been updated
