WGUR EXCLUSIVE: First shipment of COVID-19 vaccines going into the arms of GC community this week
SHS Director Angie Childre explaining the layout of GC’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic March 16, 2021.
Jonathan O’Brien | Reporter
(Milledgeville, Ga) — On Thursday, two-hundred Georgia College students, faculty and staff will get their first dose COVID-19 vaccinations in the Wellness Center.
University health officials will turn part of the basketball court inside of the West Campus facility into a COVID-19 vaccination site.
Student Health Services Director Angie Childre March 16, 2021
“We will not be vaccinating anyone outside of our Georgia College community,” said Angie Childre, director of Student Health Services. She believes it was important that faculty and staff also be allowed to sign up, “we wanted it to be fair game.”
Childre placed the order for 200 Moderna vaccines with the Georgia Department of Public Health three weeks ago, and the state confirmed the shipment on Sunday.
“When I made this first order at that time, the 1A category was all that was open,” Childre told WGUR’s Jonathan O’Brien. She ordered the doses based on an estimate of how many GC community members met the criteria. “Now more categories have opened, and so I’m going to be able to place another order and hopefully accommodate more people,” Childre said, adding that there’s no timeline for the next shipment of first doses.
However, they will be administering second doses on April 15th, exactly 28 days from the date of the first dose. Clinic staff will give this information to every recipient on their “COVID-19 Vaccination Record” card. The state directs facilities to wait two weeks before making the official request for a shipment of second doses.
LISTEN: Georgia College’s share comes from the total state allotment :
Preparations for this vaccination clinic began in December 2020. Initially, the plan was to host a drive-thru event, but the threat of severe weather on Thursday forced them to get creative. Now, participants will come inside of the Wellness Center, a section of the indoor court will be blocked off for those being vaccinated.
Layout of vaccine clinic at GC Wellness Center
“Either way, whether we were doing it drive-thru or walk-through, it’s our first time doing it, so we don’t expect everything to be perfect,” Childre said. “It has been a huge group effort to make this happen, so we hope everybody will just be patient with us.”
They do not expect any doses to be leftover, but SHS will turn them over to the local health department if this happens.
Childre got the Moderna vaccine earlier this year and urges everyone who qualifies to get the shot. “I try to remind people it’s not all about them,” she said. “It’s about protecting those around you.”
If you have questions you can call student health services at 478-445-5169.