The Rabun County Health Department is currently taking appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Those who are aged 55 and older, individuals with disabilities and certain medical conditions, and parents of children with certain medical conditions are now eligible for the vaccine, according to District 2 Public Health.
The Rabun County Health Department is also developing a waiting list for those who are not included in the eligible groups.
If any vaccines are available at the end of the day after those in eligible groups are vaccinated, those listed on the waiting list will be called to schedule an appointment, according to health department officials.
Officials stated that appointment slots are available for this week.
Those who want to schedule an appointment for this week can contact the health department at the local number, 706-212-0289.
After this week, call 1-888-426-5073 or 1-770-531-5692 to schedule an appointment.
Over 7,600 have been vaccinated in Rabun so far
District 2 Public Health has administered over 100,000 COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a recent statement from Dave Palmer, public information officer for District 2 Public Health.
On Saturday, March 14, District 2 reached 100,567 doses administered.
“All providers in Rabun County have given 7,661. Of those 7,661 doses, Rabun County Health Department has administered 5,117 doses,” Palmer said.
He noted that those doses include a combination of first and second doses.
The supply of the vaccine was limited in December and early January. As the supply improved, the 13-county health departments have given an average of 11,000 per week for the past eight-week period, according to the statement.
“The Department of Public Health is currently reporting doses given in each county. This is not by residency,” Palmer said. “There is discussion about separating the numbers by address to report how many people in each county have been vaccinated. We are not sure when, or if, that will happen.”
Palmer said that 11 of the District 2 Public Health counties are giving the Moderna vaccine. Hall and Forsyth counties are using the Pfizer vaccine.
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that the state expanded its vaccine eligibility to include adults aged 55 and older, individuals with disabilities and certain medical conditions.
“Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are already eligible for vaccination. This expansion now includes disabilities caused by an injury (e.g. traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury), a disability due to a longstanding condition that could cause vision loss, nerve damage or loss of a limb, or a disability due to illness such as ALS or multiple sclerosis,” according to a statement from District 2 Public Health.
Palmer said that the eligibility guidelines on the DPH website https://dph.georgia.gov are being followed and it’s a broad group of eligible people.
“Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for individuals who are 16-17 years of age because they included the age in their clinical trials,” Palmer said.
He said that the Moderna and J and J (Janssen, pharmaceutical companies of Johnson and Johnson vaccines), are approved for persons 18-years-old and up. However, the vaccines are still in clinical trials for younger ages.
“If a resident in District 2 wants a particular vaccine, they can make an appointment in the county that is giving that vaccine,” Palmer said.
“For now, we do not have the J and J vaccine. We hope to have it in a few weeks,” he added.
Palmer said that people are asked not to call the local health department to schedule a vaccine appointment, and instead use the online registration at www.phdistrict2.org or call center at 1-888-426-5073.
“Residents can make appointments online or through the call center for any of our 13-county health departments. We have tried to centralize the appointment process to best utilize our personnel resources,” Palmer said. “As the allocation of vaccines has improved in the state, we have more vaccine available for more appointments. We are urging people to go online or call our call center now to make an appointment. As the governor and DPH commissioner open eligibility to more groups, there will be more demand and it could become more difficult to get an appointment.”