Navicent receives the first shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in Middle Georgia

The first shipment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived at the Medical Center, Navicent Health on Monday, according to a press release from the hospital.

Navicent is the first healthcare system in Middle Georgia to receive the vaccine, Sandy Duke, Chief Clinical Officer for Navicent Health, said in a video released by the hospital.

Distribution of the vaccine started Monday. Nurse and Director of the Temporary Medical Unit Lilian Kim and Charlene Crowe, a COVID-19 care nurse, were the first staffers to receive the vaccine.

Pfizer was the first vaccine to be approved by the Food & Drug Administration and started shipping out early last week. On Dec. 17, a group of nurses at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta — the fifth largest public hospital in the country — were inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine, along with Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.

Moderna vaccine update

The new Moderna vaccine, which received approval from the FDA, has been ordered for the health departments in the North Central Health District but there is currently no timeline on when it could arrive, according to an update given at Monday’s Macon-Bibb County Board of Health meeting.

The board met via conference call to discuss various topics, including an update on the latest vaccine.

All 13 health departments in the NCHD applied to receive the Moderna vaccine, and all were approved. However, there is no guarantee that the departments receive their full order of vaccines.

Vaccine doses are expected to arrive in the next few weeks. Distribution will follow guidelines sent from the state with frontline workers receiving first priority.

Middle Georgia Cases

Over 26,800 coronavirus cases have been reported in Middle Georgia since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the latest update from Georgia’s Department of Public Health.

Here are the key takeaways, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday:

Cases: 26,860. Bibb County has recorded the most cumulative positive cases with 8,651

Deaths: 813. It’s important to note that these numbers indicate when deaths are reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health. It does not reflect when these deaths occurred.

Hospitalizations: In Region F, which includes Bibb County and much of Middle Georgia, 77.22% of hospital beds were in use, 90.87% of ICU beds were in use and 43.78% of adult ventilators were in use.

Cases per 100,000 people: Baldwin County has the most cases per 100,000 residents with 6,183. Bibb is next with 5,685cases per 100,000 people. Crawford has one of the lowest rates in the state, with 2,592 per 100,000.

Here’s a breakdown of cumulative cases and deaths for counties in Middle Georgia:

• Bibb: 8,651 cases - 234 deaths
  
  
• Houston: 5,391 - 107
  
  
• Baldwin: 2,747 - 70
  
  
• Laurens: 2,535 - 112
  
  

• Monroe: 1,130 - 59

• Peach: 1,102- 29

• Washington: 1,100 - 26

• Jones: 916- 23

• Dodge: 798 - 43

• Bleckley: 614 - 30
  
  
• Wilkinson: 485 - 18
  
  
• Pulaski: 419 - 25
  
  
• Macon: 339 - 15
  
  

• Crawford: 317 - 7

• Twiggs: 316 - 15

DPH reported 3,121 new cases across the state and 52 new deaths Tuesday.

This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 5:09 PM.