The Northeast Health District opened an appointment-based drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination and testing site at 355 Oneta St. in Athens on Tuesday, according to a Georgia Department of Public Health press release.
Georgia has started offering COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older and first responders. The vaccine is already available to health professionals and residents of long-term care facilities.
The new drive-thru vaccination site was opened to keep up with demand, the release said. While there were previously drive-thru testing sites on Mitchell Bridge Road in Athens and at the Winterville Center for Community and Culture, both have been closed.
Those who qualify for this must make an appointment online or by telephone. Priority is given to people living or working in the Northeast Health District, including Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton counties. Vaccines and tests are free on the site.
The two vaccines available, from Moderna and Pfizer, have shown similar potential side effects, including temporary arm pain, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, and fever. Vaccines will be given in two doses several weeks apart and have an efficacy of 94-95% in clinical trials.
Despite the availability of vaccines, Dr. Stephen Goggans, district health director, in the publication that supply is limited, urging people to continue wearing masks in public and to maintain social distance even as the vaccine is rolled out.
Correction: Dr. Stephen Goggans was misspelled in an earlier version of this article. The Red & Black regrets this error and has since been fixed.