Newspaper Page Text
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The ADVANCE, Morch 17, 2021 /Page 3A
(Photo Courtesy of Toombs County School System)
ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES! - Some 100 teachers and staff of the Toombs County School
System rolled up their sleeves to receive the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19
vaccination last Friday, The event was facilitated by Meadows Health at Toombs
County High School, Recently, public and private school educators at pre-school, K-l 2
and licensed Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) day care sites became
eligible to receive the vaccination.
L to R: David Avery, SECCA Director of High School Pro
grams; Coleman Edwards, Automotive student; Betsy
Avellaneda, SECCA Automotive Instructor; Jaylen Jones,
Automotive student; and Shelly Smith, SECCA CEO,
Kia Motors Donates
Vehicles to SECCA
Vaccines
continued from page 1A
administered there.
In a partnership and
smooth registration pro
cess with Meadows Health,
about 25%, or 100, of the
Toombs County Schools
staff received the Johnson
& Johnson shot. Recent
COVID numbers in the
school system have been
the lowest since Thanks
giving.
At Montgomery
County Schools, about 40
persons lined up to receive
the vaccination last week,
said School Superinten
dent Hugh Right. He not
ed that many school em
ployees had already been
vaccinated. COVID-19
reports in Montgomery
County have revealed a
decline in cases for many
weeks.
The Johnson & John
son vaccine was adminis
tered to Wheeler County
teachers last Friday at the
Wheeler County Health
Department. Though the
case numbers in the school
are currently low, teachers,
staff, and students contin
ue to wear masks and take
the precautions recom
mended by the CDC, said
Superintendent Suzanne
Couey.
A representative with
Governor Brian Kemp's
office confirmed that
83,000 doses of the newly-
approved Johnson &John
son vaccine arrived last
week, with some educators
getting the Moderna and
Pfizer vaccine.
On March 15, vaccina
tion criteria expanded to
include Georgians aged 55
and older and individuals
with disabilities and cer
tain medical conditions.
Adding Georgians over the
age of 55 and those at high
risk to COVID-19 will
make vaccines available to
categories that account for
92% of deaths due to CO
VID-19 in Georgia. Vac
cine supply has been the
main obstacle to expand
ing vaccine criteria, the
governor has previously
said.
"With increased vac
cine supply from the fed
eral government, and sig
nificant progress made in
vaccinating Georgia se
niors and other high-risk
individuals, this expanded
vaccination eligibility will
enable more people to get
vaccinated over the next
few weeks," Kemp said.
Roughly 215,000 vac
cine doses are now sent to
Georgia per week, up from
150,000 per week earlier in
February. Georgia has dis
tributed about 1.9 million
vaccine doses to roughly
1.2 million Georgians,
with 700,000 Georgians
receiving second doses.
The state has a total
of nine mass coronavirus
vaccination sites across
the state. Four of them
are open in Fulton, Bibb,
Dougherty and Habersh
am counties. The remain
ing five sites — in Chatham,
Ware, Washington, Bartow
and Muscogee counties -
were scheduled to open to
day. To register for a vacci
nation at one of these sites,
visit MyVaccineGeorgia.
com.
Provided supply al
lows, vaccine eligibility
is expected to open to all
adults in April. For a com
plete list of health condi
tions that qualify for vac
cination visit https://dph.
eorgia.gov/ covid-vaccine.
Kia Motors Manufac
turing Georgia (KMMG)
partnered with Southeast
ern Early College and Ca
reer Academy (SECCA)
through a donation of a
quality assessment vehicle
for their automotive pro
gram. Vehicles donated by
Kia serve as an education
tool. They donate models
with the latest technology
so students will be properly
equipped with automotive
knowledge that will help
them succeed. Through
the generosity of KMMG,
students in an automotive
career will have the oppor
tunity to learn on state-of-
the-art Kia vehicles built
in Georgia. According
to Shelly Smith, SECCA
CEO, “We applaud In
structor Betsy Avellaneda’s
initiative in reaching out to
Kia and securing a place for
SECCA in their automo
tive grant program.”
COVID-19 Update
Monday, March 15 ^ A
Number of Confirmed Cases/Hospitalizations/ Deaths
(Cumulative from March 2020)
Toombs County. 2812/168/92
Montgomery County. 709/40/19
Treutlen County. 650/51/20
Wheeler County. 452/35/21
Meadows Regional Medical Center COVID-19 Patient Census
Monday, March 15:2 COVID patients in-house
COVID admissions over the iast seven days, 3-7-21 to 3-14-21): 6
A New Choice for Life
Medicine.
Meadows Health Internal
Medicine is proud to welcome
Samuel Featherston, M.D., to
our staff.
Samuel Featherston, M.D.
Dr. Featherston received his
Doctor of Medicine degree
from Mercer University School
of Medicine, Macon, Georgia,
and practiced his residency at
Memorial Health University
Medical Center, Savannah,
Georgia.
He is certified by the American
Board of Internal Medicine,
and will be seeing
patients at Meadows
Health Internal
Meadows Health
INTERNAL MEDICINE
1707 Meadows Lane, Suite G
Vidalia, GA 30474 /
912-535-5120
SWAT
continued from page 1A
tion, possession of meth
with the intent to dis
tribute and possession of
drug-related objects. He
will remain in custody un
til he goes before a Supe
rior Court judge for a bond
hearing.
Chief Deputy Floyd
said the incident initiated
around 1:10 p.m. when
Wheeler County Deputy
Ben Atkins, the Oconee
Drug Task Force, and a
probation officer visited
Davis, a convicted felon
who was on probation. Au
thorities say they were go
ing to the residence to con
duct a probationary search
after receiving multiple tips
that Davis was manufactur
ing meth.
When investigators
knocked on Davis’s front
door and advised him they
were there to conduct a
search, the subject refused
to comply with their or
ders, issued a threat and
ran to a bedroom where he
barricaded himself inside.
As they attempted to
coax the suspect out of the
bedroom, Floyd said offi
cers heard noises coming
from underneath the trail
er. They discovered what
appeared to be a trap door
in the floor of the mobile
home and shortly thereaf
ter determined Davis was
hiding under the trailer.
Law enforcement removed
the underpinning on the
trailer and brought the sus
pect out. A search of the
residence turned up a small
amount of what appeared
to be meth and chemicals
to make the drug.
In addition to the
Georgia State Patrol and its
SWAT team, law enforce
ment arriving to render aid
included the Oconee Drug
Task Force, State Proba
tion, a Telfair County Sher
iff’s deputy, the Lumber
City Police Department,
state officers with Motor
Area Carrier Compliance
Division and Wheeler
County EMA Director
Steve Adams. A Wheeler
County ambulance was
also on standby.
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