Nearly 3.5 million more Georgians eligible for COVID-19 vaccine Monday

ATLANTA — Nearly 3.5 million more people will be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine on Monday in Georgia, as the state tries to boost its last-in-the-nation vaccination rate.

But will expanding access for adults with medical conditions mean better access?

“I really do think that will make a difference,” said Dexter Benning with the NAACP in Bartow County.

Benning is part of the state’s new Vaccine Equity Council that reports to the Department of Public Health.

He told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson that the group met Thursday for the first time to address trust and access issues within communities of color across the state.

“People who have any kind of disparity, particularly though, people of color, we want to make sure that those folks get the vaccine and get it fairly,” Benning said.

State data shows out of the 1.6 million Georgians who have at least one shot, only about 19% are black.

African Americans make up 32% of the state population.

“It’s trust, and a lack of access. But they work hand in hand,” Benning said.

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In rural Georgia counties, researchers at Georgia State University found specific challenges they hope are addressed when eligibility expands Monday.

“That means addressing the needs of those without internet access, or those without transportation,” said Tanisa Adimu with Georgia State University.

Gov. Brian Kemp toured the mass vaccination site inside of St. Philips AME Church in Decatur on Friday, as churches get involved in black communities.

He said vaccine hesitancy is an obstacle not just in communities of color.

“We are seeing vaccine hesitancy really, Macon [and] south, and a lot of that is dealing with white Republicans, quite honestly. So we need to continue to message that,” Kemp said.

But messaging will be hard for Marianna Slaughter and Amy English, who live in Gwinnett and Hall counties.

“The risk of taking an experimental pharmaceutical product is much stronger and way outweighs by far the risk of us being able to recover successfully from the coronavirus itself,” English said.

“We’ve all, most of us, have already had COVID. We’re not scared of it. We’re not going to get it,” Slaughter said.

Kemp hopes to make all adults eligible within weeks. But not everyone could wait.

John Douglas is a DeKalb County 18-year-old who joined the Novavax vaccine trial last month to guarantee he will get a vaccine by the end of the trial.

“I have asthma. My sister has Type 1 diabetes. So if I could do the trial and possibly get the vaccine, that will make my family feel a little bit safer,” Douglas said.

He told Johnson he’s hoping more people getting vaccinated means he can have a normal college life when he enrolls next semester.

“The more confident I’ll feel that we’ll be able to return to a life where we don’t have to wear masks in order to feel safe,” Douglas said.

As for if doses will be available for everyone on Monday, Johnson contacted all major pharmacies about it Friday night. Many of them are already booked, or they’re still trying to keep up with the demand they already had.

As the governor said Friday, the demand in metropolitan areas is not always the same demand in all parts of the state, so you may have to look around.

Channel 2 gets exclusive look at new mass vaccination site set to open next week Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne was the only Atlanta reporter to get early access to one of the new sites.

Cox Media Group