With numerous COVID-19 vaccine tracking resources available, it’s fairly easy to find vaccination rate data for Georgia counties. However, agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Georgia Department of Public Health use different data to compile their vaccination totals.
Even the broadest numbers suggest only a small percentage of Gilmer County’s population has been fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, the CDC’s COVID data tracker showed only 1,514 Gilmer County residents (or 4.8 percent of the county’s total population) have been fully vaccinated. The CDC estimates the county’s population at 31,369. Its vaccination rate numbers include vaccines administered by clinics, retail pharmacies, long-term care facilities, FEMA partner sites and federal entity facilities.
On its website, the CDC states that “missing data in some states, either reported through jurisdiction, retail pharmacies, long-term care facilities, or federal entity facilities, may result in vaccination coverage by county appearing artificially low” and “states with lower percentages for valid county of residence should be interpreted with caution.”
The CDC shows 48 percent of fully vaccinated recipients in Georgia have a valid county of residence.
Georgia Public Health’s COVID vaccine numbers paint a somewhat more encouraging picture of the vaccination effort in Gilmer County. On Monday, it showed 4,658 had received two doses of vaccine, and 8,962 have had at least one dose.
Whereas the CDC tracker measures the vaccination rate among proven citizens of each county, the public health version documents the total number vaccinated, which can include both local residents and those from other counties.
“Many people who are vaccinated at our COVID-19 clinics either work in those counties or, for other reasons, come from elsewhere in Georgia. Additionally, there are residents in each county that receive their COVID-19 vaccinations elsewhere or from local private providers,” said Jennifer King, North Georgia Health District public information officer.
By last week, a total of 164,191 COVID-19 vaccinations had been provided by health departments in the six-county North Georgia Health District, which includes Gilmer, Pickens, Murray, Fannin, Cherokee and Whitfield. Of that total number, 17,137 were dispensed in Gilmer County.
According to Georgia Public Health, the percentage of fully vaccinated residents in Gilmer County is 28 percent, King noted.
“(It’s) less than 30 percent in Georgia and 37 percent in the U.S. This clearly shows that we all still have a long way to go at the local, state and national levels to more effectively and significantly slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. We continually urge residents to understand that getting vaccinated is the most effective way to be protected against COVID-19 and to help build a wall of immunity in the community,” she added.
Vaccination site changes
After using the Piedmont Mountainside Community Center as its COVID vaccination site since January, the Gilmer Health Department has resumed giving the shots at its physical location at 28 Southside Church Street.
The new days and hours for COVID vaccinations at the health department are Tuesdays, 9 a.m-noon and 1-6 p.m., and Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m.
“They have the option to come in without an appointment or to register ahead for an appointment at gta-vras.powerappsportals.us or by calling 1-888-457-0186. Minors (should) be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to be vaccinated,” said King.
The decision to move COVID vaccinations back to the health department comes after more pharmacies have started offering the vaccines and general demand for them has decreased.
According to the CDC’s Vaccines.gov website, four Gilmer pharmacies -— Ingle’s, Walmart, CVS and Walgreen’s -— are currently offering COVID vaccines.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s health departments are going into communities to increase the numbers of vaccinated residents by holding vaccination clinics in schools and jails, as well as for the homeless and homebound, King noted.