Georgia is one of a handful of states in dead last place for number of residents vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the CDC coronavirus vaccine tracker.
That number should improve as the state receives two-weeks-worth of vaccines yesterday and today, according to a state Department of Public Health spokesperson. Shipments have been delayed by bad weather in other parts of the United States, said Nancy Nydam of the state public health department.
Georgia is right at the mid-point among states for the percentage of vaccines administered, however, Nydam added.
“What is more relevant is the number of vaccines we’ve administered out of the total vaccines we’ve received. As of today, we are at 81% administered,” Nydam said in an email on Wednesday. “We can’t vaccinate without vaccines.”
Nydam added that looking at the percentage of vaccines administered is a better measure of how the state is doing because Georgia has not even received enough doses even to complete phase 1A+.
[adrotate banner=”19″]
“That’s why we look at how much vaccine we’re actually put into arms with the supply we receive,” she said.
According to the state department of health’s COVID-19 dashboard, 1.2 million Georgians have received the first dose of the vaccine, and of those, 652,035 have received the second.
In Columbia County, 9,312 doses have been administered, and in Richmond County, 69,364, according to the dashboard. The state is currently vaccinating people in phase 1A+, which includes those who are 65 or older, law enforcement, firefighers, long-term care facility staff and residents and health care workers.
Gov. Brian Kemp is said to be set to announce soon Georgia’s expansion to phase 1B for COVID-19 vaccinations, WSB-TV in Atlanta reported Wednesday in an exclusive story. Teachers, other school personnel and more vulnerable Georgians are among those included in phase 1B. The Governor’s press secretary declined confirm such plans are being made.
“Governor Kemp has consistently said that he wants every Georgian, including educators, to have access to the vaccine as soon as possible,” press secretary Mallory Blount wrote in an email Wednesday.
Debbie Reddin van Tuyll is Editor-in-chief of The Augusta Press. Reach her at debbie@theaugustapress.com
[adrotate banner=”44″]
