The Georgia Department of Public Health has launched a COVID-19 vaccine locator tool on its website.
The tool allows users to search by county for a vaccine provider in their community. While it does not help people schedule vaccines, it does give vaccine clinic locations and contact information. The tool includes county health departments and private providers.
“Additional locations statewide will be added when providers are ready to safely administer the vaccine and as vaccine supply allows,” officials said.
CLICK HERE TO FIND COVID VACCINATION SITES
Every health department in the state and most private providers require an appointment for vaccinations. Because supply is limited, providers may not have appointments available immediately.
Vaccine development broke records, but vaccine administration in the United States has been sluggish. Of the 22.1 million doses distributed to states since federal health officials approved the first vaccine in mid-December, only 8.02 million doses have been given, according to a state-by-state tally by Bloomberg.
Of the 555,800 PfizerBioNTech and Moderna vaccine doses shipped to Georgia, only 167,057 doses had been administered as of January 8, according to data from the Department of Public Health.
Expanded access
To try and speed up vaccine administration, Georgia’s Department of Public Health expanded eligibility requirements so more people could receive it.
Effective Jan. 11, Georgia will be in phase 1A+ of its vaccine administration plan. That phase includes healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, EMS personnel, laboratory technicians, environmental services, etc.); residents and staff of long-term care facilities; adults aged 65+ and their caregivers, as applicable; and law enforcement, firefighters, 9-1-1 dispatchers, and first responders.
Some communities, including Habersham, White, and Hall counties, have already begun administering vaccines to their first responders.
Supply should better meet demand in the coming weeks. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to release the vaccines currently being withheld by the federal government and Pfizer and Moderna are expected to ramp up vaccine production as a result.
“Until that time, providers and the public are urged to be patient as we work together to get vaccine distributed in the most efficient and equitable way possible,” officials said.
This article has been updated to include the latest total number of vaccines distributed and administered in the U.S.
