Beginning Monday, January 18, qualifying members of the public will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from Navicent Health, as part of Phase 1A+ of Georgia’s priority distribution plan. Navicent Health will become the first health system in the region to begin providing mass vaccinations to first responders, healthcare workers and those who are at least 65 years of age, following guidance from the Georgia Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Those who qualify to receive COVID-19 vaccination may schedule an appointment by visiting www.CovidsafeGA.org or 478-633-SAFE (7233). Vaccination appointments are required due to current vaccine supply and vaccine storage requirements. Appointments are based on the availability of vaccine, which is allocated by and managed by the state.

“We are continuing to see a surge in the number of COVID cases in central Georgia, and the ability to offer this vaccine to our community brings us one step closer to ultimately defeating this virus. We each play a role in ending this pandemic, and vaccination is a crucial step to saving lives,” said Sandy Duke, MD, Chief Clinical Officer for Navicent Health.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine can help protect individuals, as it creates an antibody response in the body without having to become sick with the virus. If enough people get vaccinated, a large part of the population of an area will be immune to COVID-19, called “herd immunity.” Experts say that more than 70 percent of the population will have to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

As Navicent Health continues to administer the vaccine to its healthcare teammates and providers, the ability to offer it to the public is a welcome opportunity to help slow the spread of COVID-19, end the pandemic and return hospital capacity rates to normal. The first COVID-19 vaccines were given to Navicent Health teammates on Monday, December 21. In just three weeks, more than 3,400 teammates and providers have received their initial dose. Additionally, as of Monday, January 11, some healthcare workers have begun to receive their second and final dose to be fully inoculated.

Currently, two vaccines are FDA-approved to prevent COVID-19, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and theModerna COVID-19 vaccine.