ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris visited Atlanta Friday to promote COVID-19 vaccinations and attend a forum on voting rights.
The vice president's visit comes as Georgia continues to lag behind most other states in its vaccination rate. Federal and state officials are making a push to pick vaccinations back up, particularly in underserved and rural communities.
Harris stopped by Ebenezer Baptist Church and Clark Atlanta University during her visit.
"We, together, have the power to end this pandemic," she said.
In an interview with 11Alive Friday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said the reason to get vaccinated should be an individual decision and not a political one.
"So, that's what we are really trying to do is to bring that decision to individual people," she said.
The CDC said 65 percent of those eligible have had at least one COVID vaccine, but with Georgia that rate is only at 42 percent.
"We know what the numbers tell us," Harris said. "We've got to get those numbers up. We can do better."
Below is information from her schedule:
- 9:30 a.m. | The vice president is scheduled to depart aboard Air Force 2 sometime around 9:30 a.m. and arrive a bit later at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- 11:55 a.m. | Harris is expected around noon to tour the vaccination site at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn district.
- 1:40 p.m. | A little before 2 p.m. the vice president is expected to attend a vaccine mobilization event at Clark Atlanta University.
- 4:40 p.m. | After the vaccine promotion events in the afternoon, plans are for Harris to participate in a voting rights conversation at Clark Atlanta.
- 6:15 p.m. | In the early evening, the vice president will depart Atlanta to return to Washington, D.C.