The staggering response to the COVID-19 vaccine has overwhelmed the phone lines, call center and website for District 2 Public Health, according to Dave Palmer, public information officer for District 2 Public Health.
Local health departments are being bombarded with phone calls and Palmer asks that residents remain patient as the vaccine becomes more readily acceptable.
“We ask that everyone be patient. We understand that everyone is anxious, but everyone who wants the vaccine will be given the opportunity to get vaccinated,” Palmer said.
The Rabun County Health Department operates in District 2 Public Health along with 12 other counties.
Overwhelmed with appointment scheduling
The health department is currently taking appointments for individuals in phase 1-A, Palmer said. This includes healthcare workers, first responders such as EMS, law enforcement, fire personnel, etc., long-term care facilities and persons aged 65 and older.
Although appointments are being accepted, the increased demand is causing a burnout with the systems used to schedule the appointments.
Palmer said that individuals can sign up for an appointment by calling the call center at 1-888-426-5073 or signing up via the registration link at phdistrict2.org.
“Both of these are overwhelmed by the response for the vaccine. Unfortunately, only a few providers have received their vaccine. As more providers receive their allotment of the vaccine, it will become more readily available,” Palmer said.
He said that there is currently a limited supply of the vaccine available at a small number of providers.
“As more of the vaccine is shipped to additional enrolled providers, access to appointments will improve over the days and weeks ahead,” Palmer said.
Although it’s ideal to call or schedule an appointment online, many residents are going to the Rabun County Health Department to obtain an appointment slip to fill out and hand back to nursing staff, who will call the individual to set up an appointment.
Palmer confirmed that the turnaround time for receiving a call back from the health department is about two weeks.
“We are working to reduce that number as we can add staff,” Palmer said.
He said that dates to schedule vaccination appointments are opened 30 days out on a rolling basis.
“We have asked residents to get vaccinated in the county where they live or work,” Palmer said.
Vaccines will be administered at the Rabun County Recreation Department on Tuesday, January 19 for individuals who had previously scheduled an appointment.
“Rabun County Health Department, in coordination with community partners, has scheduled to use the Recreation Department on January 19 to give the vaccine. These vaccines are given by appointment only and walk-ins will not be vaccinated. Hopefully, we can schedule more of these events in the future,” Palmer said.
County Commissioner Kent Woerner said that 650 people have scheduled appointments for this day. The vaccines will be given from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
He said that these same people will receive their second dose on February 16 at the same location and time.
Woerner also serves on the Rabun County Board of Health.
He encouraged residents to continue following guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention such as social distancing and wearing masks.
Woerner said that despite the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people traveling to Rabun County and some have even moved here permanently.
He said this has been shown by the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) numbers.
“Every month, we’re breaking a record in SPLOST,” Woerner said.
He encouraged all residents to remain vigilant and not “let their guard down” when it comes to taking safety precautions from the virus.
Vaccine administration overwhelming state-wide
Gov. Brian Kemp released a statement last Friday asking for Georgians to stay patient as state officials push to distribute around 11,500 doses per day of the vaccine to health care workers, nursing homes and people aged 65 and older in some parts of the state.
Kemp said that although the vaccine distribution program is “making steady progress,” it is still constrained by the limited number of doses the state has received so far. He expects distribution “will be ramped up” in the coming weeks.
“I’m pleased with how hard everybody’s working, but i’m not happy with where we are,” Kemp said. “We’ve got to keep moving the needle. We’re working on that every single day.”
Local health departments have been swamped with requests to book appointments after the group that can receive vaccines was broadened to people 65 years and older, police and firefighters, Kemp said.
State officials plan to launch a new website soon allowing Georgians to see whether they currently qualify for the vaccine and to schedule appointments for receiving either the Pfizer or Moderna brand vaccines, which both require two doses spaced a few weeks apart.
“I’d like to continue to ask for the people of Georgia’s patience as we work hard to swiftly, safely and efficiently administer the limited supply of vaccine we have to those for whom it would be the most good to get it,” Kemp said last Friday. “We have much hope on the horizon. But we’ve got to hunker down and continue to fight this together.”
Capitol Beat News Service contributed to this story.