Fulton County this week will begin providing transportation services to take lower income senior citizens to get COVID-19 vaccinations.
Fulton County Epidemiology Director Dr. David Holland said the service is set to start Thursday, Feb. 4. It will be offered to elderly residents who use Fulton County Senior Services programs and senior centers, and who have limited resources.
Fulton residents will be informed about the transportation service as they use their usual services, Holland said.
When the seniors are scheduled for a vaccination, an Uber, Lyft, or a contracted shuttle service will be arranged to take them to a vaccination site at Aviation Cultural Community Center, he added.
Holland said the county’s goal is to have the vaccine administered to 500 seniors per week until everyone in the county over age 65 has been vaccinated.
Holland said he believes there is some racial disparity in the number of people who have or haven’t received vaccines. Seniors who are Black and living in low-income households appear to be in need, he added.
“The more resources you have, the easier it is to find,” he said of the vaccine.
The director said 23,000 seniors have been vaccinated so far at three sites operated by the Fulton County Department of Health in partnership with the Atlanta Fulton County Emergency Management Agency. Those sites are at Aviation, in Alpharetta and at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Fulton is separately considering adding mobile vaccine units that could drive into neighborhoods to administer vaccinations for residents who lack resources to register or travel for the vaccination, Holland said.
The new effort comes as the state is struggling to meet the demand for vaccine, including pausing vaccines in some counties. At a Wednesday morning press conference about the vaccine, Gov. Brian Kemp said there are over 2 million Georgians included in the ongoing phase of the vaccine distributions, which includes senior citizens. Over a million vaccines have been administered already, he said.
“Our demand is drastically outpacing the supply we are seeing in our state,” Kemp said.
Vaccines are currently available to health care workers, the residents and staff of long-term care facilities, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, first responders and adults 65 or older.
Seniors continue to be the population at highest risk of suffering complications from the virus. Many of those who qualify to receive the vaccine in metro Atlanta have reported extreme delays and frustration in getting an appointment.
So far, the vaccine continues to be in short supply in Georgia.
The approximately 1,900 vaccine providers around Georgia have received nearly 2.6 million requests for vaccinations, according to the Department of Public Health.
For more information call Fulton County’s COVID-19 hotline, 404-613-8150.
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