There is a pair of vaccination machines in Albany, Ga.
The first one is in the employee gym at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. There, people run through the COVID-19 vaccination process with assembly-line efficiency.
A beep at the door signals a temperature check, then clerical workers with computer tablets check people in before the main event: a jab in the arm on the basketball court, where an enormous American flag is pinned to the wall.
This scene repeats about 900 times a day.
Compare that scene to a year ago, when the hospital had just recorded its first cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. By the end of March 2020, there were 490 cases in surrounding Dougherty County. And so began one of the first COVID surges in the nation. For a time, Albany was a global COVID-19 hotspot.
Dougherty Co. Task Force discusses vaccines and vaccination sites
Dougherty Co. Task Force discusses vaccines and vaccination sites By Molly Godley | February 26, 2021 at 7:27 PM EST - Updated February 26 at 8:10 PM
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) -The external affairs supervisor said the GEMA vaccination site had a little over 1,000 people registered for appointments Friday. Leaders discussed the importance of using the site, as well as why they started off so low.
The GEMA vaccination site will no longer be taking drive-ups.
External Affair Supervisor Lisa Rodriguez-Presley said they never intended to accept drive-ups.
“We’ve been seeing dramatic increases in the number of people who have been coming to the site to get the vaccination,” said Rodriguez-Presley.
Credit Courtesy of the Federal Food and Drug Administration
A more infectious variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Southwest Idaho.
The variant was identified in an adult man who told health officials he had recently traveled internationally, according to a news release from the Idaho Department of Health. The variant is known as B.1.351 and was first detected in South Africa.
Epidemiologists at the Southwest Health District are working with Idaho’s Department of Health to identify any people who may have been exposed to the variant and will monitor their symptoms.
In a statement Dr. Christine Hahn, the medical director for the Division of Public Health said the state was not surprised by the variant. She said recent water testing in Boise had shown that new strains of the coronavirus had arrived in the state.
Albany leaders discuss vaccines and vaccination pop-up sites at COVID-19 Task Force meeting
Albany leaders discuss vaccines and vaccination pop-up sites at COVID-19 Task Force meeting By Molly Godley | February 12, 2021 at 6:33 PM EST - Updated February 12 at 8:11 PM
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Dougherty County leaders discussed new vaccine pop-up sites and when the vaccine could become available to the public.
Mayor Bo Dorough said there is speculation the vaccine will be available to everyone in April or May.
“The supply by that time should be sufficient to meet the demand as the federal government recently ordered an additional 200 million doses of various vaccines,” said Dorough.
ELBERTON — The Georgia Department of Public Health announced that it has suspended the vaccine supply to a private physician practice in Elberton after an investigation of vaccine practices revealed