Health care workers, nursing homes first to receive
History was made last week when Gilmer County’s first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine arrived at multiple locations to be received by health care workers, as well as staff and residents of long-term care facilities.
At the Gilmer County Health Department, health care workers began getting vaccinated last Tuesday. Members of the facility’s nursing staff were vaccinated prior to giving the vaccine to others, noted nurse manager Krystal Sumner.
“They have and are continuing to vaccinate Piedmont physicians, nursing home employees and most of the local physicians’ offices, hospice staff and dental offices,” said North Georgia Health District Public Information Officer Jennifer King about the scope of the local vaccination effort.
Sumner said there are 10 doses in each vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine received by the local health department. The entire vial must be used within a six-hour period after opening, she added. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two doses to be fully effective.
“We received 500 doses. That’s 250 people who can be vaccinated. Whenever we give a dose, we have to account for that person coming back in a month to get the second one,” Sumner said.
Stacy Fentress, of Piedmont Healthcare, said the company has submitted orders for enough vaccine to cover its workforce of more than 30,000 employees.
“All of our hospitals have received some supply of COVID-19 vaccine, either directly from the manufacturer or as part of redistributing another hospital’s shipment. This has allowed workforce vaccinations to begin in earnest at all Piedmont hospitals. The ED (emergency department) in Ellijay is included,” she added.
Fentress said, due to the limited quantity of vaccine available, Piedmont will be administering it to employees in waves per guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Georgia Department of Public Health.
“The first wave includes approximately 11,000 team members who have the highest risk due to potential exposure during their daily routines,” she added.
Ellen Smith, administrator at Ellijay’s Parkside Skilled Nursing Care (formerly Gilmer Nursing Home), said the long-term care facility’s staff has been vaccinated and residents were expected to be vaccinated on Monday. The nursing home currently has 82 patients in care, she noted.
“Of course, people have to consent to get it, but most are consenting. If the residents are alert and oriented, they can make that decision on their own,” Smith said.
‘It’s an honor’
Tracy Wells, nurse at Mountain View Elementary School, was the first of 10 local health care professionals to be vaccinated at the health department last Tuesday.
Afterward, she reflected on the gravity of the historic time in which a vaccine that’s been developed, tested and released for dispensation just within the past few months is now being used to combat the illness that’s dominated an entire year.
“I’m excited. It’s an honor and privilege to get to take part in this and do a small portion of our part to lessen this plateau of COVID,” she said.
Sumner said she’s proud of the health department’s staff and all the effort they’ve put forth in the last nine months, which has included administering COVID-19 testing and, now, a vaccine.
“It’s an honor to be a public health nurse during this time and to work with such a great team. I’m also proud to work with such a great group of nurses from Gilmer County schools. Most people are unaware of the work they’ve done to keep our school system as safe as possible during this pandemic. We are very lucky to have them,” she added.
According to Georgia public health, phase 1-B of the vaccine rollout will follow the initial 1-A phase and include other essential workers and people at higher risk of contracting severe cases of the virus. Those include critical workforce employees, police and fire personnel not covered under Phase 1-A, adults age 75 and older and adults age 65 and over with significant comorbidities. Phase 1-C will include people at higher risk of contracting severe COVID-19, such as other essential workers and adults under 65 with significant comorbidities.
According to the GDPH website, critical workforce employees include, but aren’t limited to: pharmacy staff, educational faculty and staff, correctional facility staff, court employees, food processors, grocery store workers and transportation staff.
King said the health district is collaborating with local partners on plans for rolling out the vaccine to the general public.
“We will know more as time comes closer for us to start alerting the public to prepare to receive it,” she added.
Georgia Public Health has launched a feature on its website that tracks the number of providers enrolled to give COVID-19 vaccines, the number of shipments that have gone out and the total number of vaccines administered.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 29, more than 43,000 doses of vaccine had been given statewide.
The vaccine dashboard is updated with the previous day’s totals Monday-Friday at 6 p.m. It can be found online at DPH.Georgia.gov.