Commissioner: Georgia DPH workers harassed while administering COVID vaccines
Public health workers harassed while administering COVID vaccines, commissioner says
Georgia Department of Public Health officials have worked behind the scenes to orchestrate testing and vaccinations in Georgia since the beginning of the pandemic. Toomey said line workers are receiving threats and hostile emails.
ATLANTA - Some are hesitant to receive doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, but Georgia's Department of Public Health commissioner says some are taking resistance to the vaccine too far.
Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said officials have worked behind the scenes to orchestrate testing and vaccinations in Georgia since the beginning of the pandemic. The DPH operates mass vaccination sites and partners with pharmacies that administer the vaccine.
Toomey said line workers are receiving threats and hostile emails. She said she experienced threats earlier in the pandemic, but chalked it up to her position and public appearances.
She said a mobile event in the state had to close down because of threats. She did elaborate on where or why the event was shut down.
"I said, 'This is wrong,'" Toomey said.
Toomey said she wasn't fully aware of harassment happening at state vaccination sites until she was briefed this weekend.
"We in Georgia could do better," she said. "We should be thanking those individuals for trying to get life-saving vaccines to our state."
Gov. Brian Kemp echoed support for public and private healthcare workers amid the pandemic. He recalled the early days of the pandemic when people were rallying to support frontline workers.
"We need to unite in these tough times, not be divided," Kemp said. "Let's all continue to work and be respectful in the days ahead."
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