Demand outstrips vaccine supply
♦ COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations remain high in Northwest Georgia.
The problem continues to be that the demand is greater than the supply.
In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, both Gov. Brian Kemp and Department of Public Health chief Dr. Kathleen Toomey said the state is relying on the federal vaccine allocation — and until the supply increases, spotty availability will continue.
The COVID-19 vaccine is still limited to those designated in the 1A-plus category. Those over 65, their caregivers, and public safety workers like firefighters and police are on the expanded list, which already included healthcare workers.
The goal is to have upwards of 75% to 80% of the population vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.
Over half a million COVID-19 vaccines already have been administered, according to the DPH. That’s about half what the state has received, Toomey said.
But with low or unreliable availability and over 10.5 million Georgians to reach, that “herd immunity” goal is not likely to be reached any time soon.
“The big question is are we going to get a supply from the federal government,” Kemp said. Local health officials in Northwest Georgia voiced the same frustration.
If the Biden administration follows through on its plan to increase the availability for states, Kemp said, there are plans in the works.
“We’re already planning for mass vaccination sites,” Kemp said. Regardless of the preparation, it still comes down to availability — “that’s the problem, we don’t have the doses.”
The other issue, concerning the second dose, is which vaccine is available. Currently there are two vaccines approved for use in the U.S., one produced by Pfizer and the other by Moderna. Those vaccines aren’t interchangeable, health officials have said.
When the DPH’S Northwest Health District opened up online registration, over 10,000 people registered. Since then, it’s been an exercise in frustration for those seeking to get vaccinated.
Once the vaccine is ready and a person can get an appointment, it’s a well oiled machine: groups of up to eight people at a time are vaccinated. The whole process takes 30 minutes or so.
Georgia isn’t alone in the frustration.
The Associated Press reported that smaller-thanexpected deliveries from the federal government have caused frustration and confusion and limited states’ ability to attack the outbreak that has killed over 400,000 Americans.
Over the past few days, authorities in California, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Hawaii warned that their supplies were running out.
At the same time, northwest Georgia continues having high transmission and hospitalization rates.
The number of new infections in the past two weeks has dropped somewhat, compared with highs in December and early January. However, the spread is still extremely rapid compared with previous months.
There were 649 new COVID-19 cases reported in Floyd County in the past two weeks, compared with numbers in the mid-700s in December. But in midjune 2020, it was hovering around 100 every 14 days.
This county, as well as the entirety of northwest Georgia, remains in the red zone as far as transmission of the virus is concerned.
The resulting hospitalizations have also dropped slightly from early this month but remain high. Floyd Medical Center and Redmond Regional Medical Center each reported 60-plus infected patients on Thursday.
At this point, just over 30% of patients in Region C — the healthcare preparedness coalition Floyd County is in — are COVID-19 positive. In same region, hospitals are reporting that just over 95% of the beds are filled.
“Our hospitals cannot handle another surge of COVID-19 patients on top of their current workload,” Kemp said. “This is not an all-clear signal. We’ve got to continue to keep our foot on the gas.”
Kemp also said deaths from the virus have been on the rise in recent weeks, despite the slight decline in new cases. More than 11,500 Georgians have died.
In Floyd County, where 129 people have succumbed to COVID-19, January is on track to rival December as the deadliest month. As of Thursday, 20 have died — compared to 33 in December and 76 in the first seven months of the pandemic.