GA Receives First Shipment Of Coronavirus Vaccine

ATLANTA, GA — Georgia received its first shipments on Monday of the COVID-19 vaccine for administration throughout the state.

Monday's shipments contain 5,850 doses of vaccine for individuals to receive their first dose of the two dose series. The Coastal Health District will begin vaccinating front line nurses this afternoon. A broader vaccination program for high priority individuals in Chatham, Glynn, and surrounding counties will begin tomorrow.

Gov. Brian Kemp and Dr. Kathleen Toomey of the Georgia Department of Public Health will be in Savannah Tuesday afternoon to “mark initial shipments and administration of the COVID-19 vaccines in Georgia.” The two are scheduled to be at the Chatham County Health Department's headquarters at 2:30 p.m.

The District will also make vaccine available to local hospitals as those facilities await their own deliveries.The vaccine’s arrival in Georgia comes one day after the first dose in the nation was administered to an intensive-care nurse in New York.

The vaccine also rolled out in Louisiana, Ohio and other locations throughout the United States.

Georgia Coronavirus Numbers For Dec. 14, 2020

The Georgia Department of Public Health in Atlanta reported a total of 479,340 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 2:50 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14. According to the health department’s website, that includes 3,302 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours. In addition, Georgia reported 562 new antigen-positive cases over the last 24 hours, which are considered to be probable cases of COVID-19.

Georgia has reported 9,218 deaths so far from COVID-19, with 13 more confirmed deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. Georgia also reported 886 probable deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. These probable deaths include fatalities with indirect evidence of COVID-19.

Georgia reported 37,737 hospitalizations — 100 more than the day before — and 6,859 admissions so far to intensive-care units.

No information is available from Georgia about how many patients have recovered.

Counties in or near metro Atlanta and other metropolitan areas continue to have the highest number of COVID-19 positives, with Fulton County still in the lead. Nine of the top 10 counties — seven in metro Atlanta, one that’s home to Augusta and one that’s home to Dalton — posted triple-digit increases. These statistics do not include antigen-positive cases.

1. Fulton County: 42,706 cases — 239 new
2. Gwinnett County: 42,662 cases — 361 new
3. Cobb County: 30,557 cases — 263 new
4. DeKalb County: 29,831 cases — 193 new
5. Hall County: 14,414 cases — 117 new
6. Chatham County: 11,479 — 22 new
7. Clayton County: 11,381 — 101 new
8. Richmond County: 11,003 — 125 new
9. Cherokee County: 10,486 — 65 new
10. Whitfield County: 9,112 — 69 new

Counties in or near metro Atlanta also continue to have the most deaths from COVID-19.

1. Fulton County: 707 deaths
2. Gwinnett County: 528 deaths — 1 new
3. Cobb County: 514 deaths — 1 new
4. DeKalb County: 462 deaths — 1 new
5. Bibb County: 229 deaths
6. Chatham County: 212 deaths
7. Richmond County: 204 deaths — 1 new
8. Clayton County: 202 deaths
9. Hall County: 200 deaths
10. Dougherty County: 200 deaths

All Georgia statistics are available on the state's COVID-19 website.

Globally, more than 72.6 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 1.61 million people have died from it, Johns Hopkins University reported Monday.

In the United States, nearly 16.4 million people have been infected and more than 300,000 people have died from COVID-19 as of Monday. The U.S. has only about 4 percent of the world's population but more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country.

RELATED:

• 'Relieved': U.S. Health Workers Start Getting COVID-19 Vaccine
• Teen's Suicide Shows How Mental Health Can Be Destroyed By Virus