Georgia Coastal Health District

Beginning February 1^st, all COVID-19 testing services by the Coastal Health District will shift to two regional testing sites. All testing through public health will be offered in Chatham and Glynn Counties. Public Health will no longer offer COVID-19 testing in Bryan, Camden, Effingham, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties after this week.

In addition to public health sites, COVID-19 testing is also available through many private providers, pharmacies, urgent care centers, and health clinics.

“We have to shift our priorities to better meet the demand for COVID-19 vaccine,” said District Health Director, Dr. Lawton Davis. “As much as we’d like to do it all, our smaller counties don’t have the capacity to operate testing sites, give COVID-19 vaccines, and provide core public health services. Fortunately, there are several other resources available for testing outside of public health.”

Testing at the Glynn County Health Department is by appointment only. Testing at the Savannah Civic Center in Chatham County does not require an appointment, but you must pre-register.

The COVID-19 Testing Call Center Hours will also change. Starting Monday, February 1^st, the Testing Call Center will be operational from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday.

For more information on COVID-19 testing or vaccine, go to covid19.gachd.org.

Atlanta – The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is receiving offers from medical professionals and other individuals looking for ways to help with the COVID-19 vaccination response. An effective response relies on volunteers who are pre-credentialed and organized. Georgia Responds is Georgia’s health and medical volunteer program which matches the skills and credentials of medical and nonmedical volunteers to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Georgia.

Licensed medical volunteers including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and advanced EMS personnel (EMT Intermediate and above) may be used to administer vaccination. Nonmedical volunteers may be used in administrative roles such as registering individuals for vaccination, data input, language interpretation, other administrative areas as needed, and providing guidance and assistance at vaccination administration sites.

To volunteer, log on to https://dph.georgia.gov/georgia-responds and click on the “Register Now” box. Registering only takes a few minutes and will connect you with . Prospective volunteers will be asked for their name, address, contact information and occupation type. In order to be eligible for some assignments, responders are encouraged to complete a profile summary, which includes skills and certifications, training, medical history, emergency contact and deployment preferences.

Once your skills and credentials are reviewed, you will be notified by a DPH representative.

Even as the COVID vaccine becomes available, all Georgians play a critical role in helping to slow the spread of COVID-19 by adhering to the following guidance:

• Wear a mask
• Practice social distancing by putting at least 6 feet between yourself and others
• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water.
• Follow the guidance of Public Health and the guidelines in the Governor’s Executive Order

For updates on the COVID-19 situation as it develops, follow @GaDPH, @GeorgiaEMA, and @GovKemp on Twitter and @GaDPH, @GEMA.OHS, and @GovKemp on Facebook.

For information about COVID-19, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Health Departments in all Coastal Health District counties have received an overwhelming response from residents ages 65 and older interested in COVID-19 vaccination. Based on the number of calls taken to date, health departments in all eight counties have enough requests to schedule appointments through February and, in some cases, into March. To ensure we have adequate vaccine to fulfill appointment requests, including second doses, the Coastal Health District has temporarily paused appointment scheduling for new requests. Individuals who are already on the list and awaiting call-back will still be given an appointment.

“Our health department staff is working hard to get thousands of people scheduled for vaccination, but we need to hit the pause button – at least for a little while – so we can manage the current volume of requests,” said Dr. Lawton Davis, Health Director for the Coastal Health District. “It is also my sincere hope that in the very near future, more providers will have the vaccine so there are more places for folks to get vaccinated.”

Residents can go to covid19.gachd.org and register to be notified when appointments open back up. Registering online does not guarantee a vaccination appointment; it simply gives us a way to notify residents when the appointment process is back underway.

“We know people are frustrated because the process is moving more slowly than they would like, and if we could vaccinate everyone today, we’d do that. But your health departments are stretched thin and doing what they can to move forward,” said Davis. “We’re exploring ways to expand capacity, and we know more help will arrive when other local healthcare providers have vaccine to offer, too. In the meantime, please be patient and keep practicing the public health hygiene recommendations we know help slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Jan. 10, 2021, Atlanta – The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is launching a COVID vaccine locator on the DPH website at https://dph.georgia.gov. The tool allows users to search by county for a vaccine provider in their community, and provides location and contact information for the provider. This is not a centralized scheduling tool.

County health departments and private providers are included in the locator. Additional locations statewide will be added when providers are ready to safely administer vaccine, and as vaccine supply allows. All health departments and most other providers require appointments for vaccine administration. Because vaccine supply is limited, providers may not have immediate appointments available.

Effective tomorrow, Jan. 11, Georgia will be in phase 1A+ of vaccine administration. That phase includes: healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, EMS personnel, laboratory technicians, environmental services, etc.); residents and staff of long-term care facilities; adults aged 65+ and their caregivers, as applicable; and law enforcement, firefighters, 9-1-1 dispatchers and first responders.

The process of administering COVID-19 vaccine is more complicated than other common vaccines, such as flu vaccine, and requires providers to have more resources available, including an area where individuals can be monitored for 15 minutes after being vaccinated. Many providers with vaccine are still vaccinating their own staffs and patients and are not open to the public for vaccination yet.

As both Pfizer and Moderna are able to ramp up production of vaccine in the coming weeks, supply should better meet demand for each phase of allocation and administration. Until that time, providers and the public are urged to be patient as we work together to get vaccine distributed in the most efficient and equitable way possible.

All Georgians, including those who are vaccinated, are urged to continue to follow basic COVID-19 prevention measures: wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently and follow the guidance of Public Health and the guidelines in the Governor’s Executive Order.

For updates on COVID-19, follow @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Twitter and @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Facebook.

Update on 1/11/21:

To ensure we have adequate vaccine to fulfill appointment requests, including second doses, the Coastal Health District has temporarily paused appointment scheduling for new requests.

Individuals who are already in our system and awaiting call-back will still be given an appointment.

Click here for the latest vaccine information.

Beginning January 11th, COVID-19 vaccination in the Coastal Health District will be available to adults age 65 and older, their caregivers, and emergency first responders. Vaccination of healthcare workers is already underway and will continue. There is no cost for COVID-19 vaccination through public health.

All health departments in the 8-county district will begin scheduling vaccination appointments by phone on Thursday, January 7th. “We are very excited to start this next phase, and we expect a lot of phone calls,” said Dr. Lawton Davis, Health Director of the Coastal Health District. “Supply is not going to meet demand right away, so we’re asking our communities for patience during this rollout.”

Hundreds of other healthcare providers across the state are also enrolling as vaccine providers. “This is a monumental effort, and one that can’t be accomplished through public health alone,” said Dr. Davis. “If you are in this expanded phase 1a group, you may also want to check with your pharmacy or doctor’s office to see if they’re offering vaccine as well.”

A list of telephone numbers for scheduling COVID-19 vaccination appointments in the Coastal Health District is available at coastalhealthdistrict.org/covidvaccine/.

View our Frequently Asked Questions page for more details.