Gwinnett Gears Up To Administer Coronavirus Vaccine: Director

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Gwinnett’s health director told area leaders Tuesday that the coronavirus vaccine is on the way and that the county is already planning how to distribute it.

Dr. Audrey Arona, head of the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale Health Departments, briefed Gwinnett legislators online Tuesday night on what to expect next, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Health-care workers, nursing-home residents and vulnerable seniors will be first in line to receive the vaccines, Arona said. Georgia is expected to receive about 400,000 doses of the vaccines once their emergency use is approved, with local health departments like hers administering most vaccinations.

“Hopefully what will happen is that the part of our population that is most at risk of severe disease and dying will take the vaccine so that we can at least protect them,” Arona said, as reported by the Atlanta newspaper. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that vaccines could be ready to administer before Christmas.

Ahead of that effort, Arona’s department already has secured a freezer cold enough to store the Pfizer vaccine. The department also is scouting locations to administer the vaccine, according to spokesperson Chad Wasdin.

To help in administering the coronavirus vaccine, the area health department has posted an online questionnaire to sample public perceptions, “to understand how willing individuals are to receive the vaccine as well as gather demographic data to help understand those attitudes.” The survey will be open through Dec. 15, and Arona told legislators she expects to receive about 15,000 responses.