ALBANY, Georgia (AP) – At one point in the beginning of the pandemic, Albany, Georgia was overtaking every other city in the United States, except three, in coronavirus infections per capita. Now, the southern Georgia city is home to one of four state-supported mass vaccination sites.
Many people in Albany were touched by the coronavirus at first, but the city has made great strides since the March tragedies. Thousands of people could be vaccinated in Dougherty County, Albany, starting on Monday, February 22, when the state’s four sites will open.
Christopher Cohilas, chairman of the Dougherty County Commissioners Council, said the aggression that Albany took at the beginning really prepared the city to be ahead in the next stages of the virus. In early spring, while other areas were just beginning to identify initial cases, Albany was in full swing with a full panel of containment and treatment efforts.
“We had to sharpen our sword a lot faster and a lot sharper than many other people. And then, sometimes, through adversity, you build really strong partnerships, ”he said.
He thinks this is part of the reason why Albany was chosen as one of the initial mass vaccination sites.
“Um, we work harder than anyone else. Two, we’ve been through more than anyone else. Third, we made a very careful effort to partner with the governor’s office and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, ”said Cohilas.
VACCINATING GEORGIA
The Albany mass vaccination site is located on a large plot of gravel at the Albany Georgia Forestry Commission, 1150 West Oakridge Drive. On Friday, there was a flurry of activity as uniformed National Guard members, GEMA response teams and medical teams were preparing for Monday. As soon as the site opens, about 70 employees from various partner organizations will be on site every day.
“It’s a really big deal for us here in Dougherty County,” said Cohilas.
The place where the vaccination takes place looks like a toll plaza has been placed inside a barn. Four lanes pass through a green warehouse and each can accommodate four cars inside the building, which means that the site can vaccinate a maximum of 16 people at a time.
The state projects 1,100 vaccinations per site, per day, for a total of 22,000 vaccines per week. The entire process is 100% refunded by FEMA, according to a newsletter distributed during a media tour on Friday.
The other three sites are located in Bibb, Habersham and Fulton counties. The state is expected to open additional mass vaccination sites in the coming weeks and months, Governor Brian Kemp said during a news conference on Thursday.
The registration process for mass vaccination sites is done mainly at myvaccinegeorgia.com. The website was designed to be easy to use and compatible with mobile devices, an improvement over previous registration interfaces.
Qualified patients fill out an online form and then receive an email with instructions for scheduling an appointment. Patients bring a QR code and valid identification to the location, check in, receive the vaccine and then move to the observation deck for 15 minutes. There is no cost and no insurance is required. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, ASL interpreters will be on site.
Vaccination site staff will use pills to examine patients, record vaccinations and schedule appointments for the second dose at the site.
For patients who have no technological experience, there is a telephone number associated with each mass vaccination site, where the team will guide patients through the registration process.
The Albany website is also trying to register as many patients as possible for its second dose before leaving the first appointment, said Lisa Rodriguez-Presley, GEMA / HS Supervisor for External Affairs.
FACING THE VACCINE HESITANCE
Dr. Dianna Grant is the medical director of the Phoebe Putney Health System, based in Albany. She was launched in the Albany pandemic on October 26, serving in her role for only 116 days so far. She remembers watching the news from Albany Peak when she lived in Chicago in March. Now she acts as a torchbearer to organize vaccine administration and address vaccine hesitation.
Albany has experienced the post-winter holiday increase in cases that much of America has seen.
“And with the large number of transmissions that we face, we haven’t fully reached March or April (figures). But we were so close. And we made some predictive models around that and they were really afraid that maybe we could get over what we saw in March, ”said Grant.
Now, in February, 56-59% of Phoebe’s patients in Albany are COVID-19 positive. Approximately 40% come from Dougherty County and the rest are from neighboring counties or have been transferred from more distant places.
Although rates have been dropping since the peak of January, the social determinant, more than logistics, remains the main obstacle to widespread vaccination in southwest Georgia.
Despite the early prevalence of the virus in Albany, many residents view the vaccine with skepticism rather than hope. Most locals approached by a Ledger-Enquirer reporter were unwilling to discuss COVID or said anonymously that they would not receive the vaccine.
When the doses arrived at Phoebe Putney on December 17, Grant thought that employees would line up to roll up their sleeves to get the vaccine. She soon realized that there was widespread distrust of the vaccine, especially among black Albanians – and for good reason, she said.
“They feel this mistrust, a historic mistrust,” said Grant. “For the simple fact – and they will tell you – ‘now you come to my community, when you want to give me something, and you are still not here. So, why should I trust you, you don’t want to be here every day. ‘”
For Wendy Johnson, a lifelong Albany resident, she saw many deaths to pass the vaccine. Santayana Harris, Johnson’s co-worker at the Marine Corps Logistics Command, died of complications from a COVID-19 infection alone at her home in Albany.
“A very intelligent, very friendly young woman. She was a singing bird, ”said Johnson. “And it hit her very badly, it hit her mom and dad too, but she lost her life. She was only 34 years old ”.
Grant, a black doctor, decided to combat the vaccine’s hesitation by posting pictures of herself taking the vaccine with a smile – without “(growing) a third eye,” she said. Grant then started a campaign for several local leaders to do the same. About 18 doctors in the Phase 1A + group showed up and rolled up their sleeves. It was a first step towards building trust and respect among vaccine skeptical residents.
Grant knew, however, that the best way to reach Albany’s black community was through its religious communities. She started talking about the vaccine weekly at local religious meetings. She accepts any shadow of hesitation or skepticism.
“We know that the trust cycle for all of us is listening. … So we entered the communities. They send me to different meetings, ”said Grant. “And I don’t make any speeches. I don’t give any more slides. I simply say that I am here for you to ask me questions. “
LOOKING FORWARD
Albany also identified access and transport as obstacles to vaccine distribution in rural southwest Georgia.
When community health leaders realized that people who pay their phone bills by the minute would hardly wait for a long wait, Grant said they provided an instant vaccination for a weekend at a community center. They chose a location located in a neighborhood with limited transportation so that residents could walk – and many did. An elderly man walked over there with a cane and had to sit for a while before receiving the vaccine.
“The stories they told me were: ‘Thank you for being here. I saw so many people who died, ‘”said Grant.
Johnson said he had some reservations about the vaccine because of the reactions she has had with the flu vaccine in the past. When she saw that her vaccinated family members had no side effects, she decided that she would risk it. She knows that vaccination is a priority.
Although she and her fiance plan to get the vaccine, she knows that many in her community will not. In addition, Johnson expects the nation as a whole to deal with the coronavirus in the coming years.
Grant hopes to distribute COVID-19 booster shots each year.
“You know, it can become an annual flu. I have to be honest, I don’t know, “said Grant,” We saw that with H1N1 as well. “
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