Covid vaccinations in Fayette County start today for a limited number

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Covid-19 vaccinations have begun in Fayette County today, but it’s only for certain people over 65 and only by scheduled appointments.

Getting in line to get their shots beginning today are residents and associates at an assisted living and memory care facility in Peachtree City.

“Residents and associates at Somerby Peachtree City will receive their first-round doses of Covid-19 vaccine during a specially scheduled vaccine clinic for seniors in the community,” according to an email from Nicholas Wolaver for Somerby Peachtree City, located on Rockaway Road.

Also today, Piedmont Healthcare has begun vaccinating patients 65 and older against Covid-19, in accordance with directives from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Vaccine supply is limited and, as a result, patients are being contacted from the healthcare organization to schedule appointments.

All of this week’s appointments are full and Piedmont is not conducting walk-in clinics.

“As additional supply becomes available, we will continue to contact patients to schedule additional appointments for vaccinations,” according to a statement from Piedmont.

“At this time, Piedmont is operating seven dedicated vaccination clinics throughout the communities we serve. Those clinics are not located in our hospitals nor in our existing physician practices,” Piedmont said.

“Please do not call or visit Piedmont locations unless you have an appointment. Calling or visiting without an appointment or many hours before your appointed time interferes with our ability to provide patient care at this critical time,” the Piedmont statement said.

Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is launching a Covid vaccine locator on the DPH website (Click here for that locator). The tool allows users to search by county for a vaccine provider in their community, and provides location and contact information for the provider. This is not a centralized scheduling tool.

County health departments and private providers are included in the locator.

Residents locally can call for an appointment to get the Covid shot. It’s the District 4 Health Office in LaGrange, which administers the health departments in Fayette and Coweta counties.

Call 1-800-847-4262 option 1 to schedule an appointment. Hours: Sunday, 8 a.m – 8 p.m.; and Monday-Friday 8 a.m – 6 p.m.

Click on and complete the consent form and bring it with you to your appointment: Vaccine consent form.

Additional locations statewide will be added when providers are ready to safely administer vaccine, and as vaccine supply allows. All health departments and most other providers require appointments for vaccine administration. Because vaccine supply is limited, providers may not have immediate appointments available.

Effective Jan. 11, Georgia will be in phase 1A+ of vaccine administration. That phase includes: healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, EMS personnel, laboratory technicians, environmental services, etc.); residents and staff of long-term care facilities; adults aged 65+ and their caregivers, as applicable; and law enforcement, firefighters, 9-1-1 dispatchers and first responders.

The process of administering Covid-19 vaccine is more complicated than other common vaccines, such as flu vaccine, and requires providers to have more resources available, including an area where individuals 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 that time, providers and the public are urged to be patient as we work together to get vaccine distributed in the most efficient and equitable way possible, DPH said.

All Georgians, including those who are vaccinated, are urged to continue to follow basic Covid-19 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.

13 COMMENTS

  1. Masks are needed because THEY SAY SO!
    OBEY!
    RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!

    The only innocent reason I can think of is : How can we tell if someone has been vaccinated?
    -Implanted chips
    – “Papers! Papers! Show me your Papers!”

    Have heard conflicting stories about the vaccinated being able to spread the virus. I don’t know. Unlike everyone else in the country, I’m not a virologist. Had a rudimentary exposure to virology from a Biochemistry course in grad school

    • Ran across a tweet this morning that I think may help some of the people cope with the guidance to wear masks:

      “If (in retrospect) we find out that masks were not helpful, or that they were just tools of some hoax or conspiracy. If come to find out I really am one of those “sheeple,” I’ll still sleep real well because I’ll go to bed knowing that my motive was to love my neighbor as myself.”

      Personally, I don’t believe that we will come to find masks were ineffective, in fact I believe we will find out that had we adopted mask wearing much earlier as a collective many lives would have been saved.

      So for the anti-maskers out there, what’s the harm in putting on the mask for a year? Afraid of looking weak? Duped? That will simply not be the case, you will only look like you cared for your fellow man. Is that such a horrible thing?

  2. Monica Pearson (Kaufman) announced on WSB TV she got her vaccination after struggling with the decision. So she went to Morehouse College where she was vaccinated on Sunday.

    Meanwhile, the rest of us………

  3. @spyglass Because this isn’t just about you. Wearing a mask is still basic consideration for those around you who may not have been able to be vaccinated yet. Also, while the vaccine protects you from illness it might not prevent you from spreading germs to others who are still at risk. Look at it like this.. the vaccine you do for yourself. Masks you do for others. We have to stop thinking only of our little bubble and care for others.

        • This is a public service announcement. After 612 attempts to call the District 4 number, I got through the recorded option menu nine times in two hours (8:00 – 9:59). Of the nine times I got the menu, the first eight terminated with the announcement, “The hold cue is full with all representatives currently assisting other callers. Please call again later.”

          I was the 15th caller on hold with an estimated 11 minutes waiting time. The only available appointments were in Carroll or Upston counties. I was able to make an appointment for January 19, 2021, at 10:00, at the University of West Georgia Stadium, with entry on Lovvern Road.

          Contrary to the recording in the recorded menu, Fayette County appointments were not available when I spoke to the District 4 representative.

          • Hey Doug,

            Just wait for single payer healthcare. It gets even better…(eyes rolling)

            Glad you finally got through. One phone line for 12 counties; maddening.

          • As a followup to my report on attempts to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination appointment, I and District 4 kept the appointment. I arrived at the University of West Georgia Stadium, with entry on Lovvern Road, early, completed a consent form and was vaccinated this morning. Including the 15 minute post-vaccination observation wait time, I was in and out of there in 30 minutes. The stadium parking lot provided ample drive-through room and the administering staff efficiently vaccinated me. I need to return to the stadium on February 16, with the vaccination card’s record.

            This is a thank you for all who made this happen, from the initial phone representative, to the nurse administering the vaccination, to law enforcement officers directing traffic. This hasn’t been easy for anyone and patience and humor helps. It’s another opportunity to show and give a little love. I also believe the procedures will get better with time and experience.

    • Fortunately, a search engine can answer this question for us! Spoiler: We don’t yet know how well it stops asymptomatic spread, and no vaccine is guaranteed 100% effective at preventing infection (so “either it works or not” demonstrates a poor understanding of medicine). That doesn’t mean it won’t potentially save a lot of lives.