5 New Mass Vaccination Sites To Open In Georgia

ATLANTA, GA — Five new mass vaccination sites will open later this month, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday, as Georgia prepares for an increase in available COVID-19 vaccines.

The five sites will open in Bartow, Chatham, Muscogee, Ware and Washington counties, and will be fully operational by March 17, Kemp said. The new sites will join the five existing mass vaccination centers near Albany, Atlanta, Macon and northeast Georgia.

The new sites will be located at:

• LakePoint Sports Complex in Bartow County
• Gulfstream Aerospace in Chatham County
• Columbus Civic Center in Muscogee County
• Mall at Waycross Shopping Center in Ware County
• Word of Life Church in Washington County

Kemp's announcement comes five days before the state's vaccine eligibility expansion Monday, which will allow teachers, school staff, day care workers and at-risk health groups and their caregivers to get vaccinated.

"As I've said many times before, every student belongs in the classroom: five days a week, full time, as soon as possible. That is my expectation moving forward, and we look forward to partnering with local districts to ensure that this happens very quickly," Kemp said.

To date, Georgia has administered just over 2.15 million vaccines across the state, 1.3 million of which were first doses. So far, 833,509 second-dose vaccines have been administered.

Kemp said Georgia is expected to receive 223,000 more COVID-19 vaccines next week, an increase from this week's allocation of 198,000 doses. The state is also expected to receive 83,000 doses of the recently-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, which will be primarily be used for teachers and others in the educational workforce.

"We will be prioritizing those doses for our educators to expedite a full five days a week return to the classroom," Kemp said.

For those who will become eligible for the vaccines beginning Monday, the Georgia Department of Public Health's vaccine registration website will have pre-registration options open beginning Sunday evening, GDPH Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said.

Other providers besides the state's mass vaccine sites are offering appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations, including Kroger, Publix, Ingles, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and U-Save-It. To find a vaccine site, visit the GDPH's website.