Who will get first COVID-19 vaccines in Georgia and when? Officials provide new details

Healthcare workers and nursing home residents will be the first to receive vaccine doses in Georgia, said Governor Brian Kemp and Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey at a media briefing Tuesday.

Vaccine doses will likely arrive in Georgia in the next week to 10 days, Kemp said.

The first shipment of vaccines will be given to vulnerable populations and those on the frontlines fighting COVID-19. This includes nursing home residents and health care workers. The general public will not be able to receive a vaccine for several months, Kemp said.

“Our first shipments will not be anywhere close enough for anyone in our state to stop following the same public health guidance that we’ve had in place for many months,” Kemp said.

Both Kemp and Toomey emphasized the need to continue mask-wearing, handwashing, social distancing, and other public health measures while waiting for a vaccine.

Georgia is expecting to receive several hundred thousand vaccine doses in the first shipment. There will not be enough doses initially to cover the entirety of the first priority population. The Department of Public Health has been working directly with hospitals to prioritize workers within the health care priority population, Toomey said. Hospital workers who are in closer contact with the virus will be prioritized, such as ICU staff or respiratory therapists.

Toomey said that Georgia will closely follow guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent government advisory panel. Last week, the ACIP voted to recommend that healthcare workers and nursing home residents are prioritized, the Associated Press reports. In the U.S., the two groups comprise 24 million people out of a national population of about 330 million.

In the second round of vaccine distribution, doses will likely be given to essential workers and people over 65 with multiple health conditions. However, the Center for Disease Control will have the last word on who will get the vaccine in the second round of distribution, Toomey said.

Georgia expects to receive both the Pfizer and Modern vaccines if they are approved by the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization.

The Pfizer vaccine must be kept at a temperature of minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The state has identified and purchased deep freezers throughout the state for vaccine doses, Toomey said. Special vaccine carriers from Pfizer will also be used for temperature control. The Moderna vaccine can be stored in a regular freezer.

Both vaccines require two doses given to the patient 3-4 weeks apart. Administering the vaccine in two doses poses a challenge for the state to track who needs to come in for a second dose, Toomey said. Some patients may not want to come in for a second dose If they experience negative side effects of the vaccine.

Side effects of the vaccine may include mild fever, pain in the arm, and flulike symptoms. However, the vaccine is completely safe to take, Toomey emphasized.

The National Guard will assist in distributing vaccines throughout Georgia’s 159 local health departments. Vaccine distribution will continue through 2020 and possibly until summer 2021.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as new information becomes available.

This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 3:28 PM.