Vaccines Arrive in Georgia, Healthcare Personnel First to be Vaccinated

Tiffany Morgan

 

A total of 5,850 doses of vaccines arrived in Georgia Monday, as part of a “two-dose series.”

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), “initial COVID-19 vaccine supply is limited, DPH is following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and prioritizing healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities for vaccination. Vaccine will be given through closed points of dispensing or PODs. These sites include public health clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities, pharmacies, etc., and are only accessible to individuals in defined priority groups.”

Shipments of the vaccine arrived in Coastal Georgia at two public health locations with ultra cold freezers required for storage and temperature control of the vaccine, according to a release from the Department of Public Health. There will be additional shipments of vaccine expected later this week at facilities in other parts of the state, including metro Atlanta.

Vaccines are prioritized for healthcare personnel, as well as residents of long-term care facilities.

In Savannah, health care workers were getting vaccinated today:

Additionally, later this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to give Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization. If the FDA authorizes its use, shipments of the Moderna vaccine will arrive next week in the state of Georgia.

There will be additional information about distribution and first administration of vaccine released soon, according to the Department of Public Health, but for now, Phase One of the vaccination plan includes:

  1. COVID-19 vaccine supply is expected to be limited during the initial implementation of vaccine response activities (Phase 1). During this phase, vaccine efforts will focus on reaching defined critical populations who meet DPH defined Phase 1 criteria. Vaccine administration will occur through closed POD sites, including, but not limited to, public health clinics, hospitals, long term care facilities (LTCFs), emergency medical services (EMS), etc.

The below list of Phase 1 populations is not all-inclusive and will be reviewed and updated throughout the response as needed:

    1. Healthcare personnel likely to be exposed to or treat people with COVID-19
    2. First Responders
    3. People at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, including those with underlying

medical conditions and people 65 years of age and older

    1. Other essential workers

– – –

Tiffany Morgan is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and the Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

Related posts

Comments