North Central Health District

North Central Health District’s Administers First Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine to Public Health Staff

Posted December 26, 2020 by Michael Hokanson

Public Health Staff Members Received Vaccine Saturday, Dec. 26

North Central Health District (NCHD) administered its first COVID-19 vaccines to members of the district’s staff and Phase 1A community partners on Saturday. Dec. 26. Members of public health including nurses, environmental health specialists and other frontline staff received the first of their 2 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

“It’s just like getting a flu shot,” said Don Graham, Jones County Fire Chief, Emergency Management Agency Director and paramedic, after receiving his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. “I just feel a lot better that I’m a percentage safer than I was before I walked in here today.”

This weekend vaccination event allowed NCHD to begin testing the process for COVID-19 vaccination of Phase 1A individuals which are made up of healthcare workers and those living or working in long-term care facilities. Phase 1A has been prioritized by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, CDC and DPH since those individuals are working and living in environments that present a substantially higher than average risk of encountering COVID-19.

“What we’re going through is something we’ve never been through before,” said Belinda Hunt, LPN with NCHD’s Children’s 1^st and Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program. “I would say go ahead and get it. This is no different than any other vaccine. In order to ensure your family, your loved one, everyone is safe, this is the first step.”

In addition to the vaccination activities, NCHD began scheduling appointments for individuals in Phase 1A of COVID-19 vaccine priority to start getting vaccinated Monday, Dec. 28. Individuals in Phase 1A can call 1-844-987-0099 to schedule appointments during business hours, Monday through Friday. Appointments for vaccination are available Monday through Saturday. Anyone that schedules an appointment for vaccination will be required to show workplace identification from a healthcare or long-term care facility when they arrive at the vaccination site. Only those with appointments will be allowed at the site.

Photos and video of staff COVID-19 vaccination are available for use here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1eKmhbBri7R9kvhTSbbzxjH7swl3Jy1sd?usp=sharing

For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, including safety information, EUA documents, post-vaccination reporting, eligibility and more, visit NCHD52.org/covidvaccine. For additional Georgia COVID-19 vaccine information, visit dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine.