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PAGE 12A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 3. 2020
COVID-19 vaccine poised for mid-December
roll out in Georgia, says Governor Kemp
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia is gearing up to
distribute the first doses of
COVID-19 vaccines to
health-care workers and the
state’s elderly residents in the
coming weeks once federal
officials approve the vac
cines for emergency use.
Gov. Brian Kemp said
Monday he expects health
care workers and nursing
home residents in the state to
start receiving vaccines in
the second or third week of
December, noting several
state agencies have been
preparing to move quickly
on distribution as soon as the
initial vaccine shipments ar
rive.
“Obviously, that timeline
could change, but that is
what we’re shooting for right
now,” Kemp said at a meet
ing with local nursing home
administrators.
“I’m confident that when
the vaccine is authorized ...
that we will be ready to dis
tribute that,” he added.
Kemp also relaxed certain
red-tape state rules Monday
to allow nurses and pharma
cists to administer the new
COVID-19 vaccines and to
let people receive the vac
cines in their vehicles via
drive-thru services.
Two vaccines from phar
maceutical companies Pfizer
and Moderna showed unex
pectedly good results in re
cent clinical trials and are
now poised for emergency-
use authorization from the
U.S. Food and Drug Admin
istration.
The federal government is
leaving it to governors and
other state officials to hash
out plans for distributing
COVID-19 vaccine doses in
their respective states, with
the Centers for Disease Con
trol and Prevention giving
guidance on which popula
tions to prioritize like health
care workers, first
responders, elderly persons
and those with chronic health
conditions.
Between 30 million and
40 million vaccine doses
could be available by Janu
ary with emergency federal
approval, said Dr. Carlos del
Rio, a leading Emory Uni
versity epidemiologist who
has focused on the virus
since its onset in March.
The general public should
expect to have access to
COVID-19 vaccines some
time between May and July
of 2021 after officials have
prioritized more vulnerable
populations, he said.
“The most important
thing is we need to allocate
the vaccine in such a way
that we rapidly bring down
mortality and hospitaliza
tions from this disease,” Del
Rio said at a news confer
ence Monday.
Amid high hopes for end
ing the pandemic, Georgia
officials still need to figure
out how to hand out millions
of doses across the state
while keeping the vaccine
stored at low temperatures
that may require purchasing
new refrigeration equipment,
Del Rio said.
Hospitals and long-term
elderly care facilities also
face a daunting few months
ahead as outbreaks of the
virus flare up in Georgia and
Man dies after Hwy. 515/53 crash
Emergency responders work a crash at the intersection of Highway 515 and 53 that resulted in a fatality.
short-handed staff who have
battled the pandemic since
March feel fatigue.
Several local nursing
homes noted at Monday’s
meeting with Kemp that
while the state has helped
prop up staffing levels with
federal relief money, many
facilities continue struggling
to both fend off viral trans
missions and provide every
day care for their elderly
residents after losing em
ployees early during the pan
demic.
“Unfortunately, I think
we’re going to be dealing
with it for another six
months,” said Neil Pruitt,
chairman and CEO of
PruittHealth.
Positive cases, hospital
izations and deaths from
COVID-19 have risen in
Georgia since October as of
ficials and public-health ex
perts worry a larger spike
could come amid the winter
holiday season. As of Mon
day, more than 422,000
Georgians had tested positive
for the virus and 8,778 had
died.
Kemp urged people Mon
day to keep up safe distanc
ing, masking and
hand-washing habits despite
the temptation to let their
guard down with vaccines on
the horizon.
“We’ve got to remain vig
ilant [and] keep our foot on
the gas,” Kemp said.
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By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Following a crash last
Tuesday, Nov. 24 a Marietta
man was air lifted to Kenne-
stone Hospital and died as a
result of his injuries several
days later.
According to Georgia
State Patrol Reports, Brittany
Sellers, 27, Jasper, was trav
elling north on Highway 515
and attempted to make a left
hand turn onto Highway 53
West at approximately 6:40
p.m. GSP Post #28 Com
mander Tim Nichols said
Sellers, who was driving a
2002 Ford Excursion, failed
to yield and struck a 2003
GMC Yukon driven by
Robert Tharpe, 56, Marietta.
Tharpe was travelling south
bound on Highway 515. The
crash caused the Yukon to
overturn at the intersection.
Tharpe was air lifted to
Kennestone Hospital where
he passed away on Saturday,
Nov. 28. Sellers was trans
ported to Kennestone Hospi
tal with minor injuries. There
were no other passengers in
either vehicle.
No drugs or alcohol are
suspected to have contributed
to the crash. Because the in
cident resulted in a fatality,
the Specialized Collision Re
construction Team is con
ducting an investigation.
Consumer Ed: Car repossession
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Dear Consumer Ed:
Once your car is repos
sessed, how much time are
you given to pay the overdue
amount before your vehicle
is sold? Also, how long does
a repo company have to wait
before getting rid of any be
longings you left in the vehi
cle?
Consumer Ed says:
Generally, Georgia law re
quires that the lienholder
send you notice within 10
days of the repossession, via
registered or certified mail or
statutory overnight delivery.
The notice should inform you
of your rights to redeem your
vehicle and to demand a pub
lic sale of the vehicle. Re
gardless of whether the lien
holder provides this notice,
you usually have the right to
get your vehicle back up until
it is sold. To do so, you must
pay the outstanding loan
amount in full plus any asso
ciated fees, not just the
amount of the overdue loan
payments.
You should also be aware
that if, and only if, the lien
holder sends you the afore
mentioned notice and
subsequently sells your vehi
cle for less than the outstand
ing loan amount, it may seek
to collect from you the differ
ence between the loan bal
ance plus any associated fees
and the price at which the ve
hicle was sold. To do this, the
lienholder may send your ac
count to collections or even
sue you.
As to your second ques
tion, Georgia law requires
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that a repo company notify
you within 10 days of the re
possession that it has your
belongings and intends to
dispose of them. You then
have 30 days to respond and
retrieve your property by col
lecting it and paying any rea
sonable storage or
notification charges. If you
do not respond, a second no
tice is sent and the company
is given another 30 days be
fore it may dispose of your
property.
If you are notified that
your vehicle is going to be re
possessed:
Contact your lienholder to
find out why and see what, if
anything, you can do to pre
vent the repossession.
If the vehicle has already
been repossessed, contact
your lender or the reposses
sion company to find out
how you can get your vehicle
and/or your belongings back.
If you cannot get your vehi
cle back, either because you
cannot afford to do so or be
cause the vehicle has already
been sold, find out whether
you still owe your lender any
money.
Remember that late or
missed loan payments, vehi
cle repossessions and collec
tion items can all hurt your
credit and will generally re
main on your credit file for
seven years. You can start re
building your credit right
away by paying your bills on
time and trying to pay down
your debts.
Taking applications for waiting list
Please call for details
Office Hours Mon - Fri
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
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