ATLANTA — We’ve heard your frustrations over the struggle to get a COVID-19 vaccine after appointments were opened to people over the age of 65 across the state of Georgia.
So, we reached out to Audrey Arona, the District Health Director for Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties to find the best way to increase your chances to get a spot.
First, the time of day you log online matters. Arona says if it's booked in the morning, don't give up.
"Appointments probably won't open at 2 a.m., but sometimes we open them in the morning and sometimes we end up opening them in the afternoon or evening around 6 or 7:00," said Arona.
Second, log on in the middle of the workweek, like on a Wednesday.
Arona says that's when they lock down staff schedules.
"Because our team is meeting during the week, and on weekends we have all hands on deck at the vaccination clinics -- so it's less likely we'll open up appointments on the weekends," Arona said.
Third, if you can't find an appointment on a county website, keep checking back or look elsewhere -- like the Georgia Department of Public Health's website.
"They (the DPH) have a vaccine finder," Arona said. "If we are full of appointments, people can look on that vaccine finder page and check around to see if it's available at any other locations."
Arona says next week the plan to open a mass vaccination site at the Rockdale Career Academy to reach more people each day.
Cobb County announced on Thursday afternoon that on Friday afternoon, they plan to open a limited number of COVID vaccine slots for next week. County residents can log onto the Cobb-Douglas Public Health website to set up an appointment.