Monday was an important – and hopeful – day in our months-long battle against the coronavirus.
Shortly after 9 a.m., a nurse in New York City rolled up her sleeve, becoming the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine since it was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.
Some 800 miles away, in Savannah, five nurses also received the inoculation.
As New York’s governor said, “I believe this is the weapon that will end the war.”
But that war is far from over.
The country must now embark on its most ambitious vaccination drive in our nation’s history.
In the meantime, the virus continues to show no mercy. On the same day the first inoculations were administered, the United States passed 300,000 deaths – more than any other country.
And the latest survey, released just one day after vaccinations began, found that more than one-quarter of Americans are reluctant to be vaccinated.
Of course, sharing information in a transparent manner could go a long way in assuaging those concerns – ensuring that enough Americans receive the vaccination to stop the virus in its tracks, once and for all.
But here, in Georgia, state leaders are already off to a discouraging start.
While other states have been sharing information on how the vaccinations will be distributed, Georgia has not.
North Carolina, for instance, listed 53 medical centers and healthcare systems that will receive shipments. Texas released a spreadsheet to share that information with the public. Even Florida and Alabama have released information about how the vaccine will be distributed in their states.
Yet, the Georgia Department of Public Health has remained silent.
Unlike other states, the DPH will not disclose how many doses the state anticipates, nor will it say which healthcare providers will receive them.
That’s unacceptable. And for so many reasons.
First, it means the public has no idea whether the vaccine is being appropriately distributed.
But more importantly, it has left healthcare providers – the very people who will be distributing the vaccine during this pivotal moment in our nation’s history – in the dark, as well.
On Monday, for instance, Christy Norman, vice president of pharmacy services at Emory Healthcare, was still wondering whether vaccine doses were on the way to the facility’s doors.
The lack of information has also caused a litany of issues for healthcare providers in rural areas. They say they haven’t been able to receive answers to their most basic questions, even though they will be critical in helping the country carry out this monumental task.
Remember that survey on some Americans’ reluctance to receive the vaccination?
Released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, it found that those living in rural communities and Black Americans are among the most hesitant to be vaccinated.
It’s possible the DPH has a legitimate reason for not sharing more information. But if the agency does have valid concerns, it hasn’t explained itself.
Yes, Monday marked an extraordinary moment, one that provided us with a glimmer of hope after so many months of uncertainty.
But the DPH’s silence has potential to overshadow that moment – and to disrupt the Herculean task that lies ahead.
It’s time for the DPH to be more transparent. To answer the most basic of questions. To give healthcare providers and the public the information they need.
After all, Georgians’ lives depend on it.
