Teachers and other public school personnel are eligible to begin receiving coronavirus vaccinations as of March 8, Gov. Brian Kemp announced at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
Kemp held the press conference to make the announcement about teachers and also to discuss ongoing efforts to vaccinate as many people in Georgia against Covid-19 as possible.
Kemp noted that the infection rates have gone down almost 70% in some demographics and hospitalizations are down 55% across the state when compared to last month.
The Governor acknowledged that 85%of those who have died from Covid so far were in the 65- plus age group.
The state plans to open four new mass vaccination sites in Habersham County, Fulton County, Macon and Albany where they hope to provide as many as 22,000 doses per week at each facility. CVS and Walgreens have vaccinated 1,100,000 doses to eligible people so far delivered from state allowances and also 108 Krogers and Walmarts are receiving more doses directly from the federal government.
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One thing that has hampered the vaccination totals in the state is the inclement weather across the nation. The main distribution centers in Michigan and Nashville, Tenn. have battled snow and ice to move the vaccines across the nation.
Another problem is that some people simply do not want to be vaccinated.
“We released a questionnaire to teachers across the state,” Kemp said, “and 45% of the teachers surveyed do not want the vaccination.
Kemp made it clear that the state cannot demand anyone take a vaccination against their will.
Kemp and other officials pointed out that the best way to get in line for a vaccination is to go online to myvaccinegeorgia.com where anyone can go ahead and register even if they do not meet current eligibility requirements.
Currently, eligibility is limited to those aged 65 and older, health care and EMS workers, fire and police and (soon) teachers throughout the state. However, officials urged that everyone intending on getting vaccinated should do so, so that the state will better know the demand when applying to the federal government for more doses to be made available.
Scott Hudson is the Editorial Page Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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