ATLANTA – Coronavirus vaccines were distributed unevenly in the United States, but Georgia and South Carolina had particularly low inoculation rates, along with some neighbors in the south.
More than 329,000 people in Georgia got their first photos. In South Carolina, the total is about 137,000.
However large these numbers may seem, they are still less than 3% of the population.
Alabama and Mississippi join Georgia and South Carolina at low rates, according to data from the states and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The best states managed to inject more than 5% of their population.
While it is not clear why the Deep South is lagging behind, public health researchers note that it has typically lagged in financing public health systems and addressing disparities in serving its large rural population.
At CSRA …
In Georgia, two local hospitals are working on the problem.
Augusta University Health has obtained approval to vaccinate the public and is finalizing registration plans in coordination with the quantity of supplies available.
Also working on its public vaccination plan is the University Hospital.
Hospitals are interested in starting COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Aiken County, said a local representative.
Hospital Doctors officials say they do not intend to be a public vaccination site.
Across the river, the National Guard offered to help the Aiken Regional Medical Center as it struggles with its implantation.
Meanwhile, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is hiring more people to administer vaccines and adding more medical professionals to the list of people who can give vaccines.
DHEC intends to hire 150 people work in vaccine clinics, including nurses, pharmacists, paramedics and administrative support, among others.
And a temporary rule change by the agency will allow medical students, retired nurses and other qualified professionals to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
Also in the news …
- Women are more likely than men to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a CNN analysis of vaccine demographic information from a dozen states. In Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Nebraska, women account for more than seven out of ten vaccines. But experts say the data may be a reflection of eligibility because health professionals and the elderly are being vaccinated first.
- Federal health officials are shedding new light on the number of victims of the pandemic – the number of drug overdoses. The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that about 90,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2020. The first data shows that it is a 21% increase and they expect that number to grow. In addition to feelings of depression and isolation attributed to the pandemic, they believe that new synthetic opioids are also leading to more overdoses.
- Senior officials who oversee child welfare in the Department of Health and Human Services say they saw no solid evidence to support warnings that serious forms of child abuse would arise during the coronavirus pandemic. Official data from 50 states for 2020 will not be available for several months, but anecdotal reports of hotline calls reporting suspected abuse have dropped compared to 2019, while calls to hardened family support centers seeking assistance have increased.
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