ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Dr. Kathleen Toomey held a press conference Thursday at Grady Memorial Hospital that included a live vaccination.
Throughout his address, Kemp said several times how thankful he was for the work of everyone in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
“I’m grateful for the folks on the frontlines,” said Kemp.
He said in the nine months since the start of the pandemic that people have felt the effects of it.
“While parents and teachers have adapted, parents and business owners and others came to grips with economic realities,” he said.
As the COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Atlanta and throughout Georgia, the threat of the pandemic still weighs heavy.
Hospital staffing continues to be a concern, as well as the long hours away from home that frontline workers have been dealing with for most of the year.
“[The] state has done everything in its power to support hospitals,” said Kemp, and he mentioned that some of the state’s CARES Act funding is being used to address the staffing concerns.
Although the vaccine is rolling out to frontline workers and those in long-term care facilities, the governor said it will be awhile before its available to the general public and that there will be challenges and hurdles as the state goes through an unprecedented mass vaccination campaign.
He concluded by reminding people to continue following his ‘Four Things for Fall' -- especially as the state moves into Christmas and the new year -- for themselves, others and the frontline workers.
Those four things include: wearing a mask, keeping your distance, washing your hands and following public health guidance/his executive orders.
Dr. Toomey, the Georgia Department of Public Health commissioner, then took to the podium and said she felt a lightness in everyone's mind because it appears there is a light at the end of the tunnel in dealing with pandemic.
Toomey and a Grady ICU nurse then received their first COVID-19 vaccinations live.
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