Vaccine Delays, Dose Equity Issues In Georgia, When We Can Expect Vaccination Phase 1B To Open

The winter weather that’s notoriously wreaked havoc across Texas and other states is slowing down Georgia’s efforts to administer COVID-19 vaccines.

State Department of Public Health officials say hazardous weather has delayed both Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shipments bound for distribution.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the manufacturers held back their normal allotments this week.

DeKalb County’s board of health even had to cancel appointments, saying it’s working to contact people scheduled for their second dose at sites in Doraville and Stonecrest.

Meanwhile, Georgia has a vaccine equity problem, according to the state’s new COVID-19 vaccine dashboard that launched this week.

WABE health care reporter and host of the coronavirus podcast “Did You Wash Your Hands?” Sam Whitehead found that the majority of the vaccine doses administered in Georgia have gone to white people.

He spoke with WABE’s “All Things Considered” host Jim Burress about the latest on Georgia’s vaccine rollout, saying that even without the challenges of bad weather, the U.S. vaccine supply chain is still extremely fragile and easily thrown into chaos.

Lily Oppenheimer contributed to this report.