GA Doubles Vaccination Rate As Deaths, Cases Continue To Rise
GEORGIA — The state of Georgia has doubled its vaccination rate and at the same time continues to have record-high numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths.
Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday that for the second straight week, Georgia has more than doubled its number of reported COVID-19 vaccinations. From Jan. 11-18, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported an increase from 206,900 to 423,011 vaccines administered.
"While supply for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 remains extremely limited, these numbers show encouraging progress in our efforts to work through backlogs in provider reporting and get Georgians vaccinated quickly and safely," Kemp said. "Thanks to the hard work of public health officials and the support of private sector partners like Publix, Kroger, Ingles, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens, we are making strides to vaccinate our expanded 1a populations. We still have a long way to go, but we will continue working tirelessly to get shots in arms and win the fight against COVID-19."
In total, Georgia has seen 695,400 cases of the coronavirus, with 5,772 reported Wednesday by the Georgia Department of Public Health. There were 149 more deaths in Georgia, bringing the state's total to 11,411.
However, state officials have said there is a lag in the data reported each day due to the lag time between when the case was tested and when it was submitted to the state health department for reporting purposes.
More than 47,000 people have been hospitalized in Georgia since the pandemic began due to the coronavirus, public health department data shows, and 92.2 percent of ICU beds across the state are in use as of 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The state also reported 2,719 new antigen-positive cases Wednesday, bringing Georgia's total number of antigen-positive cases to 141,249. The state's positivity rate is 11 percent, per public health data.
Georgians age 65 and older, first responders, health care workers, and long-term care facility residents and staff are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine as of publication Jan. 16, per the state's phased rollout of the vaccine. Georgia is in Phase 1A+ of the rollout.
Those who wish to be vaccinated can find vaccination sites across the state on the state public health department's vaccination locator tool. Appointments are required to receive the vaccine, and Georgians can go to any vaccination site in the state — not just the ones in their county of residence.
Publix is offering vaccination appointments at 108 of its pharmacies in Georgia, and Kroger is offering vaccination appointments at all of its pharmacies in the state. To schedule an appointment at Publix, visit the grocer's online reservation system. To schedule at Kroger, visit its website.
To view the Georgia Department of Public Health's vaccine dashboard, click here.
This article originally appeared on the Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch
