COVID-19 boosters offered for expanded range of people
All ten Northwest Health District health departments, including Polk County, will begin administering COVID-19 vaccine booster doses at state health department vaccination locations starting Monday, Sept. 27.
The Polk County Health Department is located at 125 E. Ware St. in Cedartown and is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 65-years-old and older six months after their initial 2-dose series.
The booster vaccines will also be available to people over 50 with underlying conditions as well as those over 18 who have underlying medical conditions or at an increased risk for exposure and transmission of COVID-19 because of their job.
Only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for a booster, and only people who initially had the Pfizer vaccine are eligible.
“Certain people who received the Moderna vaccine, specifically those with weakened immune systems such as cancer patients and transplant recipients, are already eligible for a third additional shot,” said Northwest District Spokesperson Logan Boss. “Our health departments will continue to administer those, too.”
The agency said they have enough supply of the Pfizer vaccine to ensure that anyone eligible
will have access to the booster.
As of Friday, 47% of Georgians were fully vaccinated. In Northwest Georgia, Floyd County is a little higher than the surrounding area with 39% of its residents fully vaccinated, according to the DPH.
Bartow and Gordon are at 35% while Polk and Chattooga were at 34%. Across the U.S. 55% of Americans are vaccinated, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In an announcement on Friday, public health officials stressed the importance of vaccinations.
“Vaccination is our best tool to protect lives and stop the spread of COVID-19 in our state,” Nancy Nydam the director of communications for the Georgia Department of Public Health said in a statement.