Vaccine locator launched ahead of Phase 1A+ of administration

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is launching a COVID vaccine locator on the DPH website at https://dph.georgia.gov.

The tool allows users to search by county for a vaccine provider in their community and provides location and contact information for the provider. The locator is not a centralized scheduling tool.

County health departments and private providers are included in the locator. Additional locations statewide will be added when providers are ready to safely administer vaccine and as vaccine supply allows. All health departments and most other providers require appointments for vaccine administration. Because vaccine supply is limited, providers may not have immediate appointments available.

Effective Jan. 11, Georgia was in phase 1A+ of vaccine administration. That phase includes healthcare workers ( physicians, nurses, EMS personnel, laboratory technicians, environmental services, etc.); residents and staff of long-term care facilities; adults aged 65+ and their caregivers, as applicable; and law enforcement, firefighters, 911 dispatchers and first responders.

The process of administering COVID-19 vaccine is more complicated than other common vaccines, such as flu vaccine, and requires providers to have more resources available, including an area where individuals can be monitored for 15 minutes after being vaccinated. Many providers with vaccine are still vaccinating their own staffs and patients and are not open to the public for vaccination yet.

As both Pfizer and Moderna are able to ramp up production of vaccine in the coming weeks, supply should better meet demand for each phase of allocation and administration. Until that time, providers and the public are urged to be patient as the vaccine is distributed in the most efficient and equitable way possible.

All Georgians, including those who are vaccinated, are urged to continue to follow basic COVID-19 prevention measures: wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing hands frequently and following the guidance of Public Health and the guidelines in the Governor’s Executive Order.

For updates on COVID-19, follow @ GaDPH and @ GovKemp on Twitter and @GaDPH and @ GovKemp on Facebook.