ATLANTA — After months of hardship and uncertainty, this may be the week things turn around as hospitals across Georgia and across the country get the first COVID-19 vaccine.
Vice President Mike Pence made history on Friday becoming the highest-ranking U.S. Official to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. He got the vaccine on live television to reassure Americans the shot is safe. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to get the vaccine on Monday.
In Atlanta, the dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine also got the vaccine in a live televised event in order to 'turn vaccine hesitancy into acceptance in the black community'.
Meanwhile, Floyd County joined a growing list of Georgia counties to receive some of the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Floyd Medical Center was given about 3,000 doses out of the almost 85,000 expected to come to Georgia this week, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
“As providers and your doctors, we are a lot of things…we’re tired, we’re beat down, we’re drained, and this is a little bit of light for us, explained Floyd Medical Center ER Doctor PJ Lynn.
Clinical Educator Robin Skater was the first in Floyd County to get the vaccine, she says it's a long time coming, “I think this is will be a, no pun intended, huge shot in the arm for us.”
Six million doses of Moderna's vaccine candidate could start shipping out as soon as next week after the FDA authorized the drug for emergency use.