District 2 Public Health in Gainesville has received nearly 1,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine and will begin vaccinating emergency medical personel on Monday as the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Northeast Georgia hit another record.
A clinic for emergency personnel will be held Monday and Tuesday. The clinic requires appointments and will open each day at 8 a.m. It will be held at Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center at 1855 Calvary Church Road. The site was chosen because parking and access to the health department in limited.
“Following the Georgia Department of Public Health’s vaccination plan and recommendations from the Centers for Disease and Control to first vaccinate frontline healthcare workers, public health is excited to begin this phase of the coronavirus response," said Dr. Zachary Taylor, director of Distict 2 Public Health.
Taylor said news that a second vaccine may get federal approval for emergency use later this week means more people will get the vaccines quicker.
The news of vaccine distribution comes as a record 272 COVID-19 patients are currently admitted to Northeast Georgia Health System hospitals and long-term care facilities. It breaks the previous record of 165, set on Dec. 14.
The first seven health care workers at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville received the vaccine Thursday night. About 5,000 doses of the vaccines were delivered to the health system on Thursday. Officials said that's enough to vaccinate about half the system's work force.
Additional doses are expected at both NGMC and the public health department, although details about those deliveries aren't known at this time.
