The public health district serving much of Northeast Georgia passed a medical milestone over the weekend. As of Saturday, March 14, District 2 Public Health reports its 13 county health departments had administered a combined total of 100,567 COVID-19 vaccinations.
The health departments have given an average of over 11,000 doses per week for the past eight weeks.
District Health Director Dr. Zach Taylor attributes the increase to improved availability of vaccine supplies and dedicated public health employees. He calls it a “shared community effort.”
“With the vaccination effort, we expanded our full- and part-time workforce, partnered with nursing programs in our area, and deployed our volunteer base to make this possible,” says Taylor.
County health departments continue to administer vaccines even as mass vaccination sites expand their reach. Georgia will open up five more mass COVID-19 vaccination sites on Wednesday, March 17. Last week, Gov. Brian Kemp said there was a 75,000 person waitlist at the four mass vaccination sites that opened in February, including the one in Clarkesville.
The Habersham County Fairgrounds was full of cars Monday as Georgia broadened its vaccine eligibility to include individuals ages 55 and up and those 16 and older with disabilities and certain medical conditions.
Who’s eligible now?
Those now eligible to get vaccinated in Georgia include healthcare workers, law enforcement, fire and first responders, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, educators and staff, individuals 55+, individuals 16+ with disabilities and certain medical conditions, caregivers, and parents of children with complex medical conditions.
President Joe Biden has directed states to make all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1.
For more on current vaccine eligibility requirements, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/.
To make an appointment for the vaccine, go to phdistrict2.org or call 1-888-426-5073.
Statewide, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine or call (888) 457-0186. The call center is open weekdays from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends.
To make an appointment at a mass vaccination site, visit MyVaccineGeorgia.com.
