MARSHALLVILLE, Ga. — According to CDC numbers reported by the New York Times, Georgia is tied for last place with Alabama and Mississippi for lowest vaccination rate.
New funds coming from the CDC might help change that and bring more vaccine to underserved areas.
Valery Davis, the mayor of Marshallville, says she had to drive more than 15 miles to Montezuma to get her COVID-19 vaccine. She's one of the luckier ones.
“A lot of them walk, a lot of them are older, they don't have transportation to get back and forth,” said Davis.
She says those are some of the problems people face when trying to get vaccinated. Currently, there's only one site in all of Macon County in Oglethorpe.
“We would have a great turnout if we had a site here,” said Davis.
Public health microbiologist Dr. Amber Schmidtke says Marshallville and many other rural areas in Georgia are in what's known as a 'vaccine supply desert.'
“You can put vaccines in a CVS, but if a CVS is not in that community, then those people don't have access to vaccines," she said.
So how do we increase the vaccination rates?
“Pivot from expecting people to come to a site to get vaccinated and more of a community-related delivery mechanism,” said Schmidtke.
The CDC is sending $96 million to Georgia to help expand local vaccine programs, especially in underserved communities. 60% of the funding must go to support local health departments, community-based organizations, and health centers.
“Oftentimes we work in partnership with churches, EMS, the police department,” said Pamela Kirkland with the West Central Health District.
Kirkland said churches will help them find people in need of a vaccine, and then they’ll have EMS try and administer it to them in their homes.
She said the Macon County Health Department is working on a plan with a Methodist church in Marshallville. As for the mayor, she just wants to see vaccines close to home.
“Just like it's provided for other cities, then we should have that same opportunity here in Marshallville," said Davis.
Davis says walk-up sites will open at Marshallville United Methodist Church on April 19 from 10 a.m. to noon, and at Saint James CME Church on April 25 from 2-4 p.m. No appointment is necessary.
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