Georgia faces its worst crisis of the pandemic, with more patients than ever before hospitalized for COVID-19. The state's also breaking records for the number of children in the hospital with the virus. As the delta variant tightens its grip on the state, the Georgia Today podcast gets a firsthand account of the situation inside Georgia's pediatric hospitals from Dr. Matthew Linam, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday may have, perhaps, made his most direct plea for Georgians to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
"I mean, the numbers do not lie; 95% of the people in the hospital with COVID-19 have not been vaccinated," Kemp told reporters during a news conference. "And I would urge you to do that. That is what we need to unite and focus on instead of having, you know, different mandates and all that."
While Chatham’s average is slightly higher rate than Georgia’s overall vaccine rate of 42%, it falls woefully short of the levels needed to achieve “herd immunity,” when enough of the population is vaccinated in order to protect those that can’t be, such as children and immunocompromised people.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is implementing new policies for its employees as the COVID-19 delta variant continues to take a toll on hospital systems across the country, including charging employees $200 per month if they fail to get vaccinated.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: Georgia 7th District U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux is among a group of moderate Democrats under fire for their resistance to supporting President Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget proposal until the U.S. House passes a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Meanwhile, the FDA gave final approval yesterday for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Pfizer mRNA vaccine is now not only safe and effective against COVID-19 serious illness and death: It’s also fully FDA approved.
Dr. Cecil Bennett of Newnan says the most important thing is to listen to patients who have not yet been vaccinated and try to understand their concerns.
Here are 3 letters from our reader callout: one to a hesitant dad, one to thank a dad who got his jab after many cancellations and one to all vaccine-hesitant folks after an uncle died from COVID.
The Phoebe Putney Hospital system in Albany is facing a grim return to staggering numbers of COVID-19 infections in its intensive care units in Albany, Americus and Sylvester.
On Friday, the hospital announced it had broken a new record passing its peak numbers since the winter surge in January and also passing where they were in April 1, 2020, when it was one of the worst hotspots in the world.
COVID-19 hospitalizations at coastal hospitals have matched or surpassed their prior peaks and are expected to keep climbing. Most patients are unvaccinated.
Dr. Edward Kenyi, born in South Sudan and now in the U.S., debunks myths about vaccines in his community. Yet he can't convince his mother back home to go for it. Maybe this letter will do the trick.
The state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the U.S. And this weekend, 80,000 doses will expire because of lack of demand. The campaign is on to get people to sign up.
Only about 42% of 18- to 24-year-olds are fully vaccinated. Eager to reach them, the White House is calling in pop stars and trying to spread the word on TikTok.
That's Dr. Junaid Nabi's perspective as an immigrant when he hear Americans say they're going to "watch and wait" — while his family and colleagues abroad are desperate for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Data collection for race and ethnicity vary among states, complicating efforts to distribute COVID-19 shots to all groups. In Missouri, health officials have questioned the data's usefulness.
This isn't the first big vaccine rollout, and the past holds lessons for the pandemic present. Here's a look at how the polio vaccine overcame U.S. hesitancy.
