The Georgia Department of Public Health received the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine Monday, Dec. 14 for administration in Georgia.

Shipments of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Coastal Georgia at two public health locations with ultracold freezers required for storage and temperature control of the vaccine. Additional shipments of vaccine are expected later this week at facilities in other parts of the state, including metro Atlanta.

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 is fine-tuning the logistics of thawing, preparing and administering the vaccine, and will begin vaccinating front line public health staff this afternoon.

A broader vaccination program for high priority individuals in Chatham, Glynn and surrounding counties will begin tomorrow. The district will also make vaccine available to local hospitals as those facilities wait for deliveries.

Because initial the COVID-19 vaccine supply is limited, DPH is following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and prioritizing health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities for vaccination.

Vaccines will be given through closed points of dispensing or PODs. These sites include public health clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities, pharmacies, are only accessible to individuals in defined priority groups.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to give Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization later this week. Assuming the vaccine is authorized for use by FDA, shipments of the Moderna vaccine should begin arriving in Georgia next week.

For information about COVID-19, visit dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Compiled from a release from the Georgia Department of Public Health.