Will expanding COVID vaccine eligibility overwhelm Georgia? Why Kemp says it’s not likely
As Georgia lags behind much of the nation in key COVID-19 vaccination metrics, Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters Wednesday in Columbus he’s not concerned about state administration systems being overwhelmed as all residents over the age of 16 become eligible for shots.
In other states like South Carolina, Missouri and Florida, a quick expansion of eligibility caused a surge in demand that led to problems. Websites crashed and supplies were unpredictable, the Associated Press reports. However, Kemp said he doesn’t think systems will be overwhelmed here. Demand would likely be high in the metro Atlanta area. But outside of the metro, it should help state officials get more shots in arms.
“We’re seeing in many parts of the state, especially in south Georgia, that there’s just not demand there. So, we needed to increase eligibility where we’re using every vaccine dose that we have,” he said.
On the eve of expanding the state’s vaccination eligibility, Kemp and officials with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency also ended appointment requirements at the Columbus Civic Center through the end of this week.
Demand south of the fall line vs north Georgia
South of the fall line cities of Columbus, Macon and Augusta, demand for the vaccine is lower. Officials shuttered a mass vaccine site in Albany — the home to one of Georgia’s earliest COVID-19 outbreaks — last week due to a lack of demand.
The Columbus site has not yet seen the demand officials expected.
GEMA representatives previously told the Ledger-Enquirer the site has the ability to administer about 1,000 vaccines per day. Current numbers are well below those estimates. Since opening March 17, 3,447 total doses have been administered at the Columbus site for an average of roughly 689 shots per day. The site is closed on weekends.
Meanwhile, vaccine appointments in the Atlanta area filled up Tuesday after Kemp’s expansion announcement. Fulton County’s vaccine hotline saw a surge in callers trying to get a place in line, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Kemp has encouraged those near Atlanta to seek appointments out in other parts of the state, and the desire to have more people visit the Columbus site led to the decision to end appointment requirements through the end of the week, Kemp said. Appointments are still encouraged to ensure residents get a shot.
“I think opening up eligibility will open up demand not only here but across the state,” he said. “If you can move around an hour or an hour and a half (from metro Atlanta), you can get into places that have shots available.”
What else is Georgia doing to bump up vaccine numbers?
Kemp said state officials have also been urging providers to not hold onto more than 20% of shots for second doses, and a recently-opened FEMA vaccine site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium should help.
As the state’s vaccine supply increases, it’ll allow strategies to shift away from mass vaccine sites like the one in Columbus to a more mobile and direct approach, Kemp said.
“Putting those vaccines on vans and buses — holding clinics at churches or neighborhood homeowners associations or what have you. That’ll be the next phase, and no one knows how to do it better than the locals,” he said.
Still, data shows the state’s struggles.
Georgia is in the bottom five for COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered to the state per person, yet roughly 1.54 million doses have been delivered but unused. As of March 24, the state has given roughly 3.28 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. Roughly 19% of Georgians have received at least one shot. Only Micronesia and Puerto Rico reported a lower percentage, according to the CDC and New York Times.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 6:06 PM.