Elbert County medical center reacts to state's suspension of COVID-19 vaccines

ELBERT COUNTY, Ga. - The medical facility that has been suspended from receiving COVID-19 vaccines for the next six months is speaking out about its decision to vaccinate educators in defiance of state policy.

The practice manager at the Medical Center of Elberton defends the decision and said the state’s decision couldn’t have come at a worse time. Brooke McDowell said there are few places in the county to get the vaccine and Elbert County is currently in the red when it comes to COVID-19 cases.

"We did not willfully disobey the guidelines," McDowell said.

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Elbert County health officials said their community is being punished for a mistake they said was not made on purpose.

"The schools had always been included in the planning phases as far as emergency management preparedness for our county," McDowell said. "This was not intentional, but it was something that was already done and you can't undo that."

The state Department of Public Health said launched an investigation and eventually suspended vaccine supply through July after the clinic supplied shots to employees of the 3,000-student Elbert County school district. Officials said about 40% of teachers, bus drivers and other employees have been vaccinated.

"It is critical that DPH maintains the highest standards for vaccine accountability to ensure all federal and state requirements are adhered to by all parties, and vaccine is administered efficiently and equitably," Public Health spokeswoman Nancy Nydam wrote in an email.

State rules state only medical workers, emergency workers, nursing home residents and people 65 and older are currently eligible for the shots. Superintendents and teachers groups are pushing to make teachers eligible, but Kemp has refused. The Republican governor said there is too much demand for the current limited supply of vaccine, even with a small increase in supply, without allowing hundreds of thousands of school employees to compete for shots.

"We just don't have the availability of vaccine," Gov. Kemp told FOX 5 in an exclusive one-on-one interview on Wednesday. "We know that people over 65 years of age are more susceptible to having a bad outcome with this virus or even the worst case and that's death [...] I know for myself I wouldn't want to put myself ahead of a first responder, a nurse or a doctor or medical professional that is literally on the frontlines of COVID-19.  And I wouldn't want to put them in front of someone like my mom or Marty's mom that if they get this, it can be a death sentence to them."

Kemp also reacted to letters from dozens of school board members and superintendents across metro Atlanta calling to prioritize educators saying that he doesn't have time to deal with pandemic politics.

But the medical center said when they first received shipment of the COIVD-19 vaccine in December, the guidance from the GDPH was not clear on who fell under the category of essential worker.

"Our understanding was that healthcare workers, long-term care facilities, and essential workers could receive the vaccine," McDowell said. "We felt like teachers fell under essential workers."

Officials at the medical center said they should have enough vaccines to give out second doses, but they won’t have enough on hand to vaccinate everyone in the Phase 1-A category.

"The general consensus is that we just want to be able to do our job. I want to be able to do my job," McDowell said.

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The Elbert County school superintendent also put out a statement that reads:

"We are thankful for our local emergency management team and The Medical Center of Elberton which began working closely with our school district in September to develop a vaccination plan designed to meet the needs of our community."

"When the state takes this vaccine away from our community, they are punishing our community," said Brooke McDowell, the center’s practice administrator. She said the clinic has an otherwise "spotless" record with the Department of Public Health, and believed it was following the guidelines when it began administering the shots. She said that about 170 school system employees have gotten doses, out of more than 1,200 doses administered.

McDowell said the clinic would not give an otherwise ineligible teacher a first dose, but is administering second doses to those already vaccinated. Some teachers got their second doses Wednesday.

The practice manager said they hope the state will work with them to lift the suspension and reinstate their privileges to receive the vaccine

Elbert County is northeast of Atlanta on the South Carolina state line.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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