ATLANTA — With the FDA’s emergency use authorization approved, the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine will soon come to Georgia.
Governor Brian Kemp said Georgia will get about 83,000 doses in the first week it’s distributed, which could be as early as Monday.
“Our goal is to get those vaccines administered as quickly as possible," Governor Kemp said.
This comes just as the state approaches two million doses administered.
Four newly-opened state sites have already given out a total of 18,667 doses of the vaccine, which is about 85 percent of the total weekly capacity, according to Kemp’s office.
That’s just at the state sites. In DeKalb County, the board of health opened one of their sites Saturday in hopes of catching up with vaccinations after the weather-delayed shipments of doses last week.
But, the weather hasn’t been the only challenge. Language barriers have made the vaccine less accessible for some.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure that everybody in the metro area has equal access to the vaccine,” said David Holland, Chief Clinical Officer with the Fulton County Board of Health.
That’s why Fulton County and several organizations, such as the Latino Community Fund, came together Saturday to help 200 Spanish-speaking residents get vaccinated.
“We are here as a community partner to ensure that Latinos are a part of these life-saving vaccines and to show Georgia and all the counties and all the efforts that when events are centered and designed around vulnerable communities with community partners work,” said Gigi Pedraza, executive director for the Latino Community Fund.