Vaccine supply still inadequate for demand locally

♦ Health officials still proactively making appointments for the second doses

Citing an erratic and inadequate supply, local public health officials said they’re still proactively making appointments for the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for locals.

Shipments are continuing to hospitals and other health care providers, Northwest Health District Spokesman Logan Boss said, but — with the exception of Chattooga County’s office — there is only very little supply.

“We’re hearing anecdotally our private providers here in northwest Georgia and in Rome may be getting pretty good amounts,” Boss said.

In the 10 county public health district, Boss estimated they have vaccinated approximately 30,000 people so far.

The Associated Press reported that public health departments and other providers are being forced to “pause” appointments for people hoping to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Cody Hall, a spokesman for Gov. Brian Kemp said.

The problem is a lack of adequate vaccines shipped to the state, said Hall. The state’s weekly allotment of vaccines is about 146,000, and they don’t expect that number to increase in the short-term, Hall said in an email.

More than 750,000 people in Georgia have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the latest updates from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s just over 7% of the population.

About 120,000 people — about 1.1% of Georgia’s population — have received two doses to become fully vaccinated.

Public health agencies have been making a shift from testing to administering vaccinations over the past month.

“More testing is available from community resources now,” Boss said. “We’re slowly shifting more and more

of our limited resources, primarily nurses, to immunizations.”

Health agencies continue to find new cases of COVID-19 variant in Georgia

Nineteen cases of a highly contagious COVID-19 variant originating from Europe have been identified in metro Atlanta, state public-health officials confirmed on Monday.

Early studies suggest the COVID-19 variant is “significantly more contagious” than the original coronavirus strain that sparked a global pandemic last March, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Georgia is among 30 states reporting cases of the variant so far.

The 19 variant cases in Georgia have been reported in several metro-Atlanta counties including Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton, Cherokee, Carroll, Douglas and Paulding. It has infected Georgians from ages 15 to 61, DPH said in a news release.

“We must ensure we are taking every precaution right now to prevent transmission of COVID and to avoid a surge in hospitalizations and loss of life,” said state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.

Toomey added the COVID-19 variant now spreading in Georgia will likely become the “dominant strain” of coronavirus in the U.S. by March after originating in the United Kingdom.

DPH officials are warning Georgians to follow COVID-19 safety measures even more strictly since lab

oratories have only tested a small number of samples for the variant so far, giving public-health experts a limited view of where the variant might be spreading.

Public-health officials are urging Georgians to wear masks, wash hands and social distance to help curb the highly contagious virus’ spread at a time when COVID-19 positive case rates and deaths have started trending down after grueling winter outbreaks.

The variant’s discovery in Georgia also comes as state officials, hospitals and pharmacies rush to distribute tight supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to health-care workers, nurs

ing-home residents and staff, first responders and people ages 65 and older.

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna have stressed that their COVID-19 vaccines “appear to work” against the variant, according to DPH.

Nearly 750,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Georgia as of Sunday afternoon, with nearly 160,000 more reported positive antigen tests indicating likely positive results. The virus has killed 12,570 Georgians.