‘We need people to come and get the jab:’ Columbus practice struggling to vaccinate

Dr. Kaizad Shroff of Rivertown Psychiatry has seen his community “ravaged” by COVID-19, and at the end of 2020, he found a way to be part of the solution as a healthcare provider.

His Columbus clinic usually provides counseling services, but now it’s a vaccine site, too. Any Georgian 18 and over can register to receive the vaccine through the practice, including non-patients.

Through January and February, Shroff hired and had the clinic staff licensed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to administer the shot. He bought ultra-cold storage and waited for the state to send doses.

“We’d been calling Georgia state legislators and kind of pushing for it,” he said. “We were ready to get vaccines in our community.”

On Wednesday, 200 Moderna doses arrived with a disclaimer.

“They told us, ‘You’ve got to use up this shipment or you don’t get the next one,’” Shroff said.

Vaccine eligibility expanded to all Georgians 16 and older Thursday. But being a vaccine provider in the state’s third-largest city doesn’t guarantee the state will continue to send vaccines if all the doses aren’t used.

Gov. Brian Kemp spoke about the state’s vaccination distribution strategy during a visit Wednesday to the Columbus Civic Center’s mass vaccination site. Thursday, the Civic Center hit a new record of 1,938 doses distributed.

“If demand falls here, we’re going to move these doses to where the demand is,” Kemp said. “If y’all keep high demand, we’ll take doses from low demand areas and send y’all more.”

On a smaller scale, medical practices like Rivertown Psychiatry, which have gone through the CDC licensing process, are expected to administer all the doses it receives.

So far, four people have registered and received the vaccine through Rivertown Psychiatry in the 24 hours since sign-up began. Shroff said getting the shot in their office takes about three minutes with a 15-minute observation window after.

“We need people to come and get the jab,” he said. “It’s safe.”

The office is at 1520 22nd St., Columbus, and is open on weekdays. People can sign up for appointments at rivertownpsychiatry.com/covid19-vaccine.

This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 6:23 PM.