GA health districts slammed with COVID vaccine inquiries. ‘50,000 calls in 2 hours.’
Last week, the Georgia health department announced it was expanding availability of the COVID-19 vaccine to new groups, including first responders and residents 65 and older.
Monday, county health departments and regional health districts were swamped with calls to schedule vaccinations, leading to frustration and confusion for some Middle Georgians.
The Houston County Health Department posted on Facebook that it was “experiencing an extremely high volume of calls to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments. We understand your frustration and your desire to secure COVID-19 vaccination appointments.”
Michael Hokanson with the North Central Health District, which covers 13 counties in Middle Georgia including Bibb, Houston and Peach, said the district received more than 50,000 calls in two hours Monday morning.
“We are working with the company we use for the phone service, but that does not mean we will have more manpower to answer calls,” he said. “Our call line staff has been answering every call that connects to schedule appointments for eligible individuals. All we can do right now is ask for everyone’s patience.”
A vaccine drive-thru event slated for Monday in Cochran was canceled. The Georgia Coastal Health District temporarily paused vaccination scheduling on Monday, posting that “most of our counties are in the process of booking appointments into March.”
The state has struggled to vaccinate residents eager to receive doses as new COVID-19 cases in Georgia reach record highs. Last week, Gov. Brian Kemp acknowledged issues distributing the virus, saying he’s “not happy with where we are.” His goal is for the state to administer 11,500 doses a day. As of Monday evening, healthcare workers had administered 206,900 of the almost 700,000 that have been shipped, according to the state’s vaccine dashboard.
“I’d like to continue to ask for the people of Georgia’s patience as we work hard to swiftly, safely and efficiently administer the limited supply of vaccine we have to those for whom it would be the most good to get it,” Kemp said Friday.
People living in one of the North Central Health District’s 13 counties — Baldwin, Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Macon-Bibb, Monroe, Peach, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington and Wilkinson — can call 1-844-987-0099 to schedule an appointment. Hokanson said the district is currently scheduling appointments for next week, but not beyond.
“We have not expanded the schedule beyond Jan. 23 yet due to the uncertain vaccine supply,” he said. “We don’t want to be in a situation where someone has locked in an appointment only for us to not have adequate supply at the scheduled time.”
The Georgia Department of Public Health also published a coronavirus vaccine locator on Monday that includes the address and phone number for each distribution location in Georgia.
The state reported 6,360 new COVID-19 cases Monday.
Who can request the vaccine
Healthcare providers: This group includes paid and unpaid people serving in a healthcare setting who have the potential for direct exposure to patients or infectious materials and includes, but is not limited to: physicians, nurses, dentists, laboratory workers, environmental services, EMS, fire department that provides health services, etc.
Employees and residents of long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes
Adults age 65+ and their caregivers (caregivers as applicable)
Law enforcement, fire personnel (including volunteer fire departments), dispatchers and 911 operators
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 4:41 PM.
