Cobb County has town hall to answer COVID-19 questions

COBB COUNTY, Ga - Georgians have been seeing problems across the state when it comes to distributing the COVID-19 vaccine.

In Cobb County, the website to sign up for the shot crashed due to overwhelming demand. People are worried about getting an appointment. Others are worried about getting that second dose.

Tuesday evening, county officials teamed up with the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health to answer some questions and help people wade through the issues.

"Our residents' concerns are similar to those across the state... the challenge of getting scheduled for vaccinations," said Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.

In a pandemic that has seen surge after surge, many people were relieved to see a vaccine. Now, many of those same people are frustrated that they can't get it. That includes people 65 and older.

"We know the vaccine supply has been steady, but it's limited," said Cupid.

"The demand is tremendous. There are several million people that fall into this category who are eligible and there are less than a million vaccines that have been allocated," said Dr. Janet Memark with Cobb & Douglas Department of Health.

With so many people scrambling to get the shot, many worry whether they'll be able to get their second dose.

"The state of Georgia has told us not to go before the recommended dates, that's 21 days for Pfizer and 28 days for Moderna, but there is no time limit to get the second dose so please don't panic if you don't get that second dose right on that day," said Dr. Memark.

Dr. Memark said second doses will receive priority. She also says anyone who got their first dose at Jim Miller Park will get an email or phone call regarding when the second dose is available.

Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said the most important thing people can do right now is to stay safe, try not to worry, and be patient.

"Bear with us, it's just as frustrating for us, the elected officials and public health officials, that we can't provide the amount of vaccines being requested," said Cupid.

While county leaders don't have anything to do with who gets the vaccine, they know residents are worried and wanted to get as much information to them as possible.

"There's only so many things we can control at the local level, but we can communicate and let them know what we are doing to help," said Cupid.

WATCH: FOX 5 Atlanta live news coverage

_____

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts.