You may not yet be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, but when you are, a new website will be able to tell you where to get one.
The Georgia Department of Public Health is launching a COVID vaccine locator on the department’s website at https://dph.georgia.gov. The tool allows users to search by county for a vaccine provider in their community, and provides location and contact information for the provider. This is not a centralized scheduling tool.
County health departments and private providers are included in the locator. Additional locations statewide will be added when providers are ready to safely administer vaccine, and as the vaccine supply allows. All health departments and most other providers require appointments for vaccine administration. Because vaccine supply is limited, providers may not have immediate appointments available.
Effective Jan. 11, Georgia will be in phase 1A+ of vaccine administration. That phase includes healthcare workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, adults aged 65 and older and their caregivers, and law enforcement, firefighters, 9-1-1 dispatchers and first responders.
The process of administering the coronavirus vaccine is more complicated than other common vaccines, such as flu vaccine, and requires providers to have more resources available, including an area where individuals can be monitored for 15 minutes after being vaccinated. Many providers with the vaccine are still vaccinating their own staff and patients and are not open to the public for vaccination yet.
As both Pfizer and Moderna are able to ramp up production of vaccine in the coming weeks, supply should better meet demand for each phase. Until that time, the health department is urging providers and the public to be patient as we work together to get vaccine distributed in the most efficient and equitable way possible.
All Georgians, including those who are vaccinated, are urged to continue to follow basic coronavirus prevention measures, such as wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing your hands frequently and following the guidance of Public Health and the guidelines in the Governor’s Executive Order.
For updates on COVID-19, follow @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Twitter and @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Facebook.
