With an influx of vaccines expected, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that more mass vaccination centers will open in Georgia as the state scrambles to improve a rock-bottom inoculation rate.
Five new centers will open in Bartow, Chatham, Muscogee, Ware and Washington counties on March 17, part of a race to inoculate as many Georgians as possible before new, more contagious COVID-19 variants take hold.
The new sites join existing centers near Albany, Atlanta, Macon and northeast Georgia, part of a budding infrastructure ahead of Monday’s expansion. That’s when the state will allow teachers, school staffers, day care workers, adults with intellectual disabilities and parents of children with “complex medical conditions” to receive the vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced Friday that the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta will serve as a federally run vaccine site capable of administering 6,000 shots a day.
The White House said it was deploying federal teams immediately to work hand-in-hand with the state and local partners, including the Georgia Department of Public Health. The site is expected to be up and running within the next two weeks. Officials met Friday to develop plans for site setup and operations. The site will operate seven days a week for an eight-week period.
Federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Georgia lags behind every other state in the U.S. in the pace of vaccination, and some public health experts have complained that Kemp isn’t acting aggressively enough to distribute the doses.
The governor has pushed back on the CDC data, saying the state’s lagging pace in administering first doses of the vaccine is because of “intense demand” from health care workers and Georgians over 65 who are in need of their second shots.
Kemp also said nearly 60% of Georgia’s seniors have received at least one vaccine dose, compared with a national average of 49% — a reflection, he said, of the state’s focus on the most vulnerable Georgians.
Here’s a look at other major developments related to COVID-19 over the past week.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Vaccine supply to increase
Monday, an estimated 1 million Georgians will become eligible to receive the vaccine. That’s when teachers and others, including parents of children with complex medical conditions, will be added to the pool.
With regulators granting emergency authorization for the Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine, the state’s supply of shots is expected to grow. Drugmaker Merck will help produce the shot, expanding the nation’s stockpile.
President Joe Biden said that the U.S. was on track to have enough supply for “every adult in America by the end of May” — two months earlier than expected. He has directed states to prioritize vaccinating teachers so more students can return to in-person learning.
More than 2.1 million vaccine doses have been administered in Georgia, but the supply can’t keep up with the demand.
Still, Georgia’s vaccine capacity is slowly growing: The state administered nearly 350,000 vaccinations in the most recent seven-day stretch. More than 18,000 vaccinations were given at the four mass distribution centers during their first week of operation.
The first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson was set to arrive possibly Friday or Monday, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Some 83,000 doses are going to sites already receiving vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
A CDC advisory panel strongly endorsed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s effectiveness in protecting against hospitalization and death.
The vaccine is the first one authorized in the United States that does not need to be kept frozen or followed by a second shot.
No plans to ease restrictions
Kemp said he’s not yet ready to loosen coronavirus restrictions as the governor of Texas did recently.
On Tuesday, Texas became the biggest state to abolish its mask rule, joining a rapidly growing movement across the U.S., despite health officials urging Americans to not to let down their guard yet.
The Lone Star State also will do away with limits on the number of diners served indoors, said Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
The governors of Michigan, Mississippi and Louisiana likewise eased up on bars, restaurants and other businesses, as did the mayor of San Francisco.
“We can’t let our guard down. We’ve got to keep doing this for another month or two, to get closer to true herd immunity,” Kemp said. “I just feel like we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Georgia universities prepare for full return
Several public universities in Georgia are discussing plans for a full return to classes and campus living for the fall semester. That’s in anticipation of campuses being safer for students and employees because of vaccines.
The availability “should allow us to resume normal operations in the Fall Semester, including a return to full in-person instruction, full capacity in our residence halls and dining facilities, and regular operations for other campus services,” University of Georgia officials said in a message to students, employees and faculty. “All research and public service operations are also expected to resume regular activities no later than Fall 2021.”
Georgia State University President Mark Becker wrote Wednesday that the school plans to have “a full complement of in-person classes,” as well as “a fully populated residential community and campuses that provide the usual student services, activities, events and recreational opportunities.”
Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera told parents the school is preparing for “full operations and a complete residential experience for our students this fall.”
Staff writer Eric Stirgus and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
