While health care workers, high-risk residents and those over the age of 65 wait to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Georgia, the state is asking for volunteers to help distribute the shots.
Of the combined 376,325 Pfizer and Moderna shipments, only 76,742 vaccines have been administered so far, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Gov. Brian Kemp and DHP Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said last week residents age 65 and older will be able to get vaccinated, especially in parts of the state where the line is shorter.
Toomey said the state is expanding access because of the risk to those over 65 as well as the availability of vaccine in parts of the state.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Georgia To Expand Vaccination To Those Over Age 65
In the metro Atlanta area, hundreds of health care workers are waiting to get vaccinated, but in many rural parts of the state, the vaccine is literally sitting in freezers, Toomey said.
"We have more people that want to get vaccinated in the metro areas than we have the vaccine," Kemp said. "And it's completely the reverse of that in parts of rural Georgia. The demand is not there from the people that want to get it, but the vaccine is there."
The frustration at the slow pace of rolling out the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna has to do with staffing, too.
"It's a little more complicated to get it from the box into people's arms because of the logistics," Toomey said. "And part of the lag is just being able to be able to set up the clinics and ensure there's there's the appointments that people can get in and not be waiting."
The State Emergency Registry of Volunteers in Georgia (SERVGA) is a statewide secure database of precredentialed health care professionals and other volunteers who want to help in case of a public health emergency.
These are people who usually respond to emergencies such as hurricanes or other natural disasters, natural disease outbreaks, terrorism, or major accidents and disasters.
DPH provides these volunteers with sovereign immunity and state-sponsored liability protection. Anyone wishing to volunteer to administer COVID-19 vaccine may apply online at SERVGA.
