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ALBANY, Ga. (AP) – At one point in the onset of the pandemic, Albany, Ga. Exceeded all but three cities in the United States in per capita coronavirus infections. Today, the southern Georgia city is home to one of four state-supported mass vaccination sites.
Many people in Albany were affected by the coronavirus early on, but the city has made major progress since the tragedies of March. Thousands of people can be vaccinated in Dougherty County in Albany starting Monday, February 22, when the state’s four sites open.
Christopher Cohilas, chairman of the Dougherty County Board of Commissioners, said the punch Albany took at the start actually prepared the city to be ahead of the next phases of the virus. By early spring, as other areas were just beginning to identify the first cases, Albany was at full speed with a full panel of containment and treatment efforts.
“We had to sharpen our swords a lot faster and a lot harder than a lot of other people. And so sometimes, through adversity, you build really strong partnerships, ”he said.
He thinks this partly explains why Albany was chosen as one of the first sites for mass vaccination.
“First, we work harder than anyone. Second, we’ve been through more than anyone else. Third, we have made a very conscientious effort to partner with the governor’s office and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, ”Cohilas said.
VACCINE GEORGIA
The Albany Mass Vaccination Site is located in a large gravel lot at the Albany Forestry Commission in Georgia, 1150 West Oakridge Drive. Friday was a flurry of activity as members of the National Guard in uniform, GEMA responders and medical staff prepared for Monday. Once the site opens, approximately 70 workers from various partner organizations will be on site each day.
“It’s a really big deal for us here in Dougherty County,” Cohilas said.
The place where the vaccination takes place looks like a toll plaza in a barn. Four lanes wind through a green warehouse and each can hold four cars inside the building, meaning the site can vaccinate a maximum of 16 people at a time.
The state is planning 1,100 vaccines per site, per day, for a total of 22,000 vaccines per week. The entire process is 100% reimbursed by FEMA, according to a fact sheet 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 more mass vaccination sites in the coming weeks and months, Gov. Brian Kemp said at a press conference Thursday.
The registration process for mass vaccination sites is primarily handled by myvaccinegeorgia.com. The site is designed to be easy to use and mobile friendly, an improvement over previous registration interfaces.
Eligible patients complete an online form, then receive an email with instructions for making an appointment. Patients bring a QR code and valid ID to the site, check in, get vaccinated, and then walk to the observation lane for 15 minutes. There is no cost and no insurance is required. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, ASL interpreters will assist on site.
Vaccination site workers will use tablets to screen patients, record vaccinations, and schedule second dose appointments on site.
For patients who are not technologically savvy, there is a phone number associated with each mass vaccination site where staff will guide patients through the registration process.
The Albany site is also trying to register as many patients as possible for their second dose before they leave their first appointment, said Lisa Rodriguez-Presley, GEMA / HS external affairs supervisor.
FIGHTING VACCINE HESITANCE
Dr Dianna Grant is the Chief Medical Officer of Phoebe Putney Health System, headquartered in Albany. She was thrown into the Albany pandemic on October 26, holding her post for just 116 days so far. She remembers watching the start of Albany’s peak play on the news while living in Chicago in March. Now, she serves as a torchbearer to organize vaccine administration and combat vaccine reluctance.
Albany has seen the post-winter vacation spike in cases most of the United States has seen.
“And with the high number of transmissions we had to deal with, we didn’t fully hit March or April (numbers). But we were so close. And we had done predictive modeling around that and they were really worried that we might even outperform what we saw in March, ”Grant said.
Now, in February, 56 to 59 percent of Phoebe’s Albany patients test positive for COVID-19. About 40% are from Dougherty County and the rest are from neighboring counties or have moved from further afield.
Although rates fall from the January peak, the social determinant, rather than logistics, continues to be the main obstacle to widespread immunization in southwest Georgia.
Despite the early prevalence of the virus in Albany, many residents view the vaccine with skepticism rather than hope. The majority of residents approached by a Ledger-Enquirer reporter were unwilling to discuss COVID or anonymously said they would not get the vaccine.
When the doses arrived at Phoebe Putney on December 17, Grant believed that employees would be lining up to roll up their sleeves to receive 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 that mistrust, a historic mistrust,” Grant said. “Because of the simple fact – and they will tell you – ‘now you come to my community, when you want to give me something and you are not already there. So why should I trust you, you don’t want to be here every day. ”
For Wendy Johnson, a lifelong resident of Albany, she had seen too many deaths to transmit the vaccine. Santayana Harris, Johnson’s colleague at Marine Corps Logistics Command, died of a COVID-19 infection alone at her home in Albany.
“Very intelligent, very nice young woman. She was a songbird, ”Johnson said. “And it really hit her, 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 vaccine reluctance by posting pictures of herself taking the vaccine with a smile – without “(growing) a third eye,” she says. Grant then launched a campaign for various local leaders to do the same. About 18 doctors from the Phase 1A + group showed up and rolled up their sleeves. It was a first step in building trust and respect among residents who are skeptical of the vaccine.
Grant knew, however, that the best way to reach the community of color in Albany was through its religious communities. She began to talk about the vaccine weekly at local church meetings. It welcomes any shade of hesitation or skepticism.
“We know that the cycle of trust with all of us is about listening. … So we entered the communities. They send me to different meetings, ”Grant said. “And I’m not giving any speech. I no longer give slides. I’m just saying I’m here for you to ask me questions.
LOOKING FORWARD
Albany also identified access and transportation as barriers to vaccine distribution in rural southwest Georgia.
When community health officials realized that people who pay their phone bills by the minute probably wouldn’t wait for a long wait, Grant said they held a pop-up vaccination on weekends. end in a community center. They chose a site in a neighborhood with limited transportation so residents could walk – and many did. An elderly man rode there on a cane and had to sit down for a while before getting the vaccine.
“The stories they told me were, ‘Thank you for being here. I’ve seen so many people who have passed away, ”Grant said.
Johnson said she had reservations about the vaccine due to reactions she had had to the flu shot in the past. When she saw that her vaccinated family members had no side effects, she decided to give it a shot. She knows that vaccination is a priority.
Although she and her fiance are planning to get the vaccine, she knows that many people in her community will not. Additionally, Johnson expects the nation as a whole to face the coronavirus for years to come.
Grant expects to distribute COVID-19 booster shots every year.
“You know, it can turn into an annual flu. I have to be honest, I don’t know, “Grant said.” We’ve seen this with H1N1 as well. “
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