On Wednesday, December 16, 2020, Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments received our first allocation of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine – just under 2,000 doses. This is an exciting time for the Health Department because we’ve been planning for this stage of the response all along, and we are hopeful this will help us get back to normal quickly. Front-line health department employees were the first to receive their vaccines upon arrival Wednesday.

We have been planning for weeks as to how we will distribute these initial doses. Those plans are now in motion. We are also sharing our initial doses with local hospitals, so doctors and nurses on the front lines will be first to get the vaccine while the hospitals await their first shipments.

Phase 1A also includes our EMS providers, which the Health Department has already made plans to start immunizing this week. We’re also working with a couple of large primary care physician offices with locations across our counties. Because we’re helping provide these healthcare workers their first doses of vaccine, once they receive their vaccine allotments, they will be ready to immunize individuals in Phase 1.

Long-term care and assisted living facilities, which are also included in this phase, have a contract through CVS and Walgreens for their vaccines.

We understand the concerns of those who are cautious about the vaccine. We believe vaccination is the safest way to introduce immunity into our community. Being a member of our immunization team, district health director Dr. Audrey Arona, was immunized Wednesday. As the phases continue to roll out, when you get an opportunity to get vaccinated, we hope you choose to do so.