DeKalb County is making some progress on vaccinations.
As of Thursday evening, the Health Department reports they’ve given out vaccines to at least 2,700 people in phases 1A and 1B. That first category consists of health care workers and long-term care residents. Public Health Administrator Lisa Gonzalez said they’re not quite finished with that group.
"As time goes by, people either they realize they are eligible, or reach out to us, or they may have decided early on that they weren’t going to get vaccinated and subsequently decide to get vaccinated," she said. "So that’s why we’re still working to get that first dose for some in Phase 1A."
Gonzalez added that vaccines are getting to long-term care homes through the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program.
“The pharmacies are essentially going into those facilities and providing vaccines to both those staff and residents. The most recent information that’s been released to me as it relates to those skilled nursing facilities, most of the county’s skilled nursing facilities have received vaccines.”
The next part of that distribution is getting to assisted living facilities. But the county faces one major logistical obstacle.
“We have the capacity to hold larger clinics. We have the staffing to be able to vaccinate people, but we just don’t have the supply we need based on the current demand,” Gonzalez said.
She encourages residents to register on the Department’s website so they can be notified when a dose is available. At the same time, she says supply constraints mean people won’t receive these notices at the same time.