North GA – The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Governor Brian Kemp announced yesterday that Georgia is going to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on Monday, March 15, 2021. This expansion will include adults aged 55 and older, individuals with disabilities and certain medical conditions. It will also include people with disabilities caused by an injury (e.g., traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury), a disability due to a longstanding condition that could cause vision loss, nerve damage or loss of a limb, or a disability due to illness such as ALS or multiple sclerosis.
The North Georgia Health District is urging residents who are currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccine and those who will be eligible beginning next week to register for a vaccination appointment online at https://bit.ly/CoV19Vax-NorthGA or call our Call Center hot line at 1-888-881-1474, weekdays from 8:15 AM to 4:30 PM. Go to http://bit.ly/Cov19VaxClinics-NorthGA for more information about the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics conducted by public health departments in Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties.
Currently, the following groups are eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia:
- Healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, EMS personnel, environmental services, etc.)
- Residents and staff of long-term care facilities
- Adults aged 65+ and their caregivers*
- Law enforcement, firefighters, first responders
- Educators and staff (Pre-K, K-12, DECAL licensed or exempt childcare programs)
- Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers*
- Intellectual Disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 22
- A developmental disability is a physical or mental impairment that happens before the age of 22, is expected to last a lifetime, and impacts at least three activities of daily living. Activities of daily living include self-care; receptive and expressive language; learning; mobility; self-direction; capacity for independent living; and economic self-sufficiency
- Parents of children with complex medical conditions who are at high risk for COVID-19 complications
- Malignancies requiring active treatment
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) including organ transplant (bone marrow or solid organ) within 2 years
- Critical congenital heart disease
- Asthma (moderate to severe)
- Sickle cell disease
- Diabetes
- Obesity (BMI >95%)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Significant neurologic injury or condition (e.g., hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, traumatic brain injury, congenital anomaly, acute flaccid myelitis) with functional/developmental impairment (e.g., cerebral palsy, developmental disability, prematurity, mitochondrial disease)
- Technology dependence (e.g., BiPAP, trach)
*Caregivers provide care to people who need assistance for everyday tasks.
Care recipients can live in residential or institutional settings, range from children to older adults, and have chronic illnesses or disabling conditions.
Beginning March 15, 2021, the following populations will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in Georgia:
- Adults aged 55 and older
- Individuals with disabilities
- Individuals aged 16 years and older with certain medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness from COVID-19. **Note: Pfizer is the only COVID vaccine currently approved for children aged 16 and older**
- Conditions include:
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular Disease
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- COPD
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Heart Conditions
- Immunocompromised State
- Liver Disease
- Neurologic Conditions
- Overweight and Obesity
- Pregnancy
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Sickle Cell Disease
- Thalassemia
**Pfizer vaccine is only available at our Cherokee and Whitfield County COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics**
For more information about COVID-19 Vaccine in Georgia, log onto the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) website at https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine.
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About Us: The North Georgia Health District is part of the Georgia Department of Public Health. One of 18 health districts in the state, the North Georgia Health District (District 1-2) is comprised of six counties: Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield. Many public health programs and services exist throughout the district, all of which are designed to meet the needs of the people of North Georgia. Learn more about us at www.nghd.org, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
To access this press release on our website, please log onto http://nghd.org/pr/34-media-releases/1290-north-georgia-health-officials-urge-current-and-upcoming-eligible-residents-to-make-a-covid-19-vaccine-appointment.html