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Mobile County officials are preparing the Alabama cruise terminal ahead of the first major COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort in the Alabama coast on Saturday.
Large-scale vaccination efforts in Mobile County come as Alabama officials counter bad public relations over the state’s abysmal vaccine distribution rate. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state ranks last for the percentage of residents who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.
The worst states for vaccine distribution are in the Deep South, with Mississippi, South Carolina and Georgia not far behind Alabama.
The poor results prompted Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday afternoon to issue a statement encouraging people to be patient, cover their faces and stand 6 feet apart.
Ivey’s comments also come as nearly half of U.S. states begin to expand the number of people who receive a vaccine at age 65 and older.
“I am grateful that so many Alabamians are willing and ready to receive their COVID-19 vaccines,” she said. “(Public Health Officer) Dr (Scott) Harris and his team are continuously working to get this vaccine more effectively into the arms of Alabamians. Our current supply remains limited, but we are committed to vaccinating as many Alabamians as possible. “
Other statistics show that some groups of Alabamians are planning to forgo the vaccine. Only 50% of school workers in Tallapoosa and Marion counties, already vaccinated after neighboring hospitals donated unused doses of the vaccine, choose to get it.
Mobile County earlier in the week hosted a vaccination clinic for religious leaders in the area in an effort to convince the minority community to feel more comfortable with the vaccine.
Mark Bryant, spokesperson for the Mobile County Health Department, said a survey of residents showed 65% of the black community said they did not plan to take the vaccine.
The health agency, in a Facebook update on Friday, provided details about the clinic ahead of its opening at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Dr Rendi Murphree, director of the Office of Disease Surveillance and Environmental Studies at the Mobile County Health Department, said people arriving at the downtown terminal for a COVID-19 vaccine should be prepared to wait. . She encouraged participants to bring water and snacks and “please be kind to our staff and everyone else who is all in the same boat as you.”
The county administers 1,000 Moderna vaccines to people aged 75 and over, as well as police and firefighters. The first doses will be administered from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to anyone aged 75 and over on a first-come, first-served basis. From 1:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., vaccinations will be open to police and firefighters who bring their ID.
The agency has come under fire in recent days for administering vaccines to people who are not eligible for doses. Health officials in recent days have admitted to inadvertently distributing vaccines to people who were not eligible during a “soft opening” event at the cruise terminal.
Murphree said the department had “learned a few lessons” from the appointment only clinics that took place during the smooth opening events. She said all those vaccinated at the cruise terminal on Saturday will be sent home with a vaccination record showing the date of the vaccination and a date that a person can return for their second dose.
There is no residency requirement to receive a vaccine on Saturday, although Murphree said the department “prefers that it be residents of Mobile County.” A similar vaccination clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on January 19, 21, 26 and 28 at the Daphne Civic Center.
The clinic is not a driving event. She said attendees will enter the cruise terminal via Eslava Street and be guided to the correct place to park.
“Have your ID ready in the car and someone will check with you when you arrive,” Murphree said. “You can expect delays.”
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