ByPaige Phillips|January 10, 2021 at 6:08 PM EST - Updated January 11 at 10:02 AM
GEORGIA (WTOC) - The Georgia Department of Public Health has launched a COVID-19 vaccine locator on their website.
The tool helps users search by county for a vaccine provider in their community, as well as providing a location and contact information for the provider. This is not a centralized scheduling tool.
The tool includes both county health departments and private providers. Additional locations statewide will be added when providers are ready to safely administer the vaccine and as vaccine supply allows.
All health departments and most other providers require appointments to receive the vaccine.
Beginning Monday, Jan. 11, Georgia will be in phase 1A+ of vaccine administration. That phase includes healthcare workers, residents and staff of log-term care facilities, adults aged 65+ and their caregivers, law enforcement, firefighters, 911 dispatchers, and first responders.
The process of administering the COVID-19 vaccine is more complicated than other common vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, and requires providers to have more resources available, including an area where vaccine receivers can be monitored for 15 minutes after being vaccinated.
Many providers with vaccine are still vaccinating their own staffs and patients and are not open to the public for vaccination yet.
As both Pfizer and Moderna are able to ramp up production of vaccine in the coming weeks, supply should better meet demand for each phase of allocation and administration. Until then, providers and the public are urged to be patient.
All Georgians, including those who are vaccinated, are urged to continue to follow basic COVID19 prevention measures: wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently and follow the guidance of Public Health and the guidelines in the Governor’s Executive Order.
You can find the COVID-19 vaccine locatorhere.
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