Local hospitals moving along with vaccinations despite slow rollout

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The CDC vaccine tracker shows Georgia and South Carolina have distributed and administered fewer doses compared to other states. But here in the CSRA, local health officials told NewsChannel 6 they are moving right along.

“We have received all the vaccines we have ordered in a very timely fashion. There have been no delays receiving any of the vaccines from the state,” Doctors Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Farr said.

While you may be wondering when your time will come to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia, health officials report employees from Augusta University, Doctors Hospital and University Hospital have been receiving doses in their arms for the past month and many have both doses.

“I think we’re all pretty much tired of wearing masks all the time. I think we want to get back to going to football games and going out to see people and eating at restaurants without having to worry anymore,” Dr. Farr said. “And the way we do that is to get vaccinated.”

Doctors Hospital received around 2,000 doses for staff and medical providers, according to Dr. Farr. And only about 200 or 300 doses are left.

The latest Department of Public Health data shows Doctors requested 3900 doses of Pfizer and received 2925. Additionally it requested 1900 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 1200 doses have been received. Dr. Farr said their order was duplicated and thus more than enough.

“We really got more than we needed,” he said. “We’ve been giving some of that to the department of health. And Augusta University was short with having enough vaccines to vaccinate their employees.”

AU reports more than 9,000 vaccines have been delivered and University Hospital has received around the same amount. While hopeful, people still have to take precautions.

“We’ve only vaccinated a very small portion of the population right now. We haven’t even vaccinated those most at risk yet. In fact, we haven’t even made a sizeable dent in that yet,” Dr. Phillip Coule, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Augusta University Health, told us.

All vaccinations have been internal as the state is still in Phase 1A. As more phases roll out, the public can look to AU and even local pharmacies. But University and Doctors Hospitals do not plan on extending doses to the general public.