Newspaper Page Text
Page 6A — Wednesday, December 9, 2020 The True Citizen
COVID-19 vaccine is
on the way to Georgia
BEAU EVANS
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia could have “several
hundred thousand doses” of
COVID-19 vaccines in the
next week or so for distribution
to health-care workers and el
derly care facilities, according
to the state’s top public-health
official.
Those doses will roll out
immediately once approved
by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration this month but
will not be enough to cover all
of Georgia’s hospital workers
and nursing-home staff and
residents, said Dr. Kathleen
Toomey, commissioner of the
state Department of Public
Health.
More rounds of the vac
cine will arrive depending
on how fast pharmaceutical
companies Pfizer and Modema
produce it, as well as how the
federal government’s Opera
tion Warp Speed distribution
program plans to divvy out
doses, Toomey said at a news
conference Tuesday.
“We’ll be able to get this
throughout the state,” Toomey
said. “I’m very confident of
that.”
Officials in several state
agencies have been working
for months on plans to trans
port the vaccine throughout
Georgia, decide who should
have first dibs in the early wave
of limited doses and coordinate
with local pharmacies and
health-care providers that will
administer the shots.
Once hospitals and nursing
homes get the vaccine, work
ers in key sectors like first
responders and energy com
panies, plus older Georgians
with health issues, will be next
in line for doses. The general
public should have access by
summer, Toomey said.
Given the long wait for
widespread immunization,
Gov. Brian Kemp said it’s es
sential people in Georgia do
not stop social distancing and
wearing masks even as the vac
cine begins to arrive in limited
batches.
“Our first shipments will not
be anywhere close enough for
anyone in our state to stop fol
lowing the same public-health
guidance that we’ve had in
place for many months,” Kemp
said. “We cannot give up now.
We all must do our part so that
the sacrifices that everyone has
made will not be done in vain.”
Tuesday’s vaccine update
came as Georgia continues
to see increasing numbers of
positive COVID-19 cases and
hospitalizations during the
winter holiday season, as more
people head indoors for colder
weather and face temptation
to gather without masks for
Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Nearly 500,000 people in
Georgia have tested positive
for COVID-19 so far and more
than 9,000 Georgians have died
of the virus.
Kemp signaled he is still
reluctant to impose tougher
measures like smaller crowd-
size restrictions or business
shutdowns for the time being,
saying that Georgia is “far
ing much better” than many
other states with more severe
outbreaks.
“I would urge Georgians
that if there’s an activity that
involves being around a lot of
people that you don’t have to
do, don’t do that,” Kemp said.
“I feel like we’re in a good
spot... but it’s going to be our
citizens that flatten the curve.”
Once the vaccine arrives,
Toomey said county health
departments working with
local providers will pick the
first recipients. Distribution
will happen statewide, even to
isolated rural areas, she said.
Everyone except children will
eventually have access to the
vaccine free of charge.
Besides those logistics,
the biggest challenge facing
Georgia will be for state of
ficials and health experts to
cut through public skepticism
over the vaccine’s safety and
make sure enough people are
immunized to halt COVID-
19’s spread.
Toomey assured the vaccine
will be safe and highly effec
tive based on data from clini
cal trials Pfizer and Moderna
released last month.
“I can say with great en
thusiasm: I can’t wait to get
vaccinated,” Toomey said.
“I’m so looking forward to
that opportunity, and I hope we
can convey that same desire to
people throughout Georgia.”
“We feel very confident that
these vaccines will work, are
safe and are important to en
sure the safety of all Georgians
at this time.”
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Editor:
After reading Diana Royal's article about shopping local, No
vember 25, my mind immediately recalled the jingle which Earl
Lauderdale frequently played on WBRO radio in Waynesboro
back in the 60's. "Shop at home, keep your money at home...".
I don't recall all of the lyrics but I do remember the main point
which was keeping your money at home "creates employment,
more smiling faces, more enjoyment". To this day, some 50 plus
years later, those words and that message have been a force in
my life when it comes to shopping. I can honestly say I do not
shop on line and have always been able to find needed gifts and
products within stores where I live. I do not say this to brag but
to say that a little hometown jingle in Waynesboro, Georgia,
has made me a hometown shopper. Thank you, Waynesboro,
and WBRO.
Marsha D. Hendrix
DeLoach
McKerley-Prescott
FUNERAL HOME
AND CREMATION SERVICE
220 East 6th Street ■ P.O. Pox 595
Waynesboro, GA 30830
706 554-3531
www.deloathfuneralhomes.com
OBITUARY
Frances Tanham Speer
Frances Tanham Speer, daughter of Frank Tanham and Irene
Kilpatrick Tanham, died peacefully in her sleep on December
1, in Savannah at Buckingham South.
She was born in Englewood, New
Jersey on March 27,1925 and grew up
in Tenafly, New Jersey. She moved to
Augusta in 1947 and loved living in
Augusta. She was preceded in death
by her beloved husband, John Z. Speer
and her daughter, Irene K. Speer. She
is survived by two sons: John Z. Speer,
Jr. (Rosemary) and Frank T. Speer of
Augusta and one daughter, Harriet
D. Speer of Savannah. She is also
survived by her grandchildren- John Z. Speer, III, (Rene),
Genevieve Speer Sumner (John), Cazenove Haltermann Bou-
lus (Paul), Mary Bryan Haltermann, Julia Speer Haltermann
Burt (Alexander), Frances Speer Fickling (William), and 8
great-grandchildren.
She was graduated from Penn Hall in Chambersburg, PA
and attended Barnard College. Mrs. Speer was a member of
The National Society of Colonial Dames of America, Sand
Hills Garden Club, Town and Country Garden Club, Augusta
Country Club, Augusta Assembly, and Saint Paul's Episcopal
Church. She was a former member of the Junior League and
a former board member of the West End Free Library and
the Girls Center. She was also a Pink Lady for the former St.
Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary.
Fran was a devoted mother and grandmother. She had an
incredible talent for horticulture and cultivating beautiful gar
dens. She was an accomplished pianist and music aficionado.
Her inquiring mind led her to travel around the world. Known
for her elegance and intellect, she was admired by many. She
had many dear friends in her life, thanks to her wit, charm and
magnanimous heart.
The family would like to thank Buckingham South of Savan
nah for the excellent care they gave her these past three years.
Also, special thanks and appreciation to her devoted caregivers
in Augusta: Doris Foreman, Joan Patterson and Rena Davis.
You three ladies have been a wonderful gift.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Augusta
Public Library and GLASS- Georgia Public Libraries Service:
Talking Books. 55 Park Place NE #300, Atlanta, GA 30303
EMA
schools. Without question,
his experience and expertise
have been invaluable to me
personally and to the school
system as a whole.”
While commissioners have
fallen under public scrutiny
Continued from front
for wanting to have more
input in the hiring process and
for removing hiring and bring
powers from Waldrop, they
were all in agreement Tuesday
evening. After the vote, the
crowd erupted in applause.
Narcotics Anonymous
Meetings
Edst Burke Baptist Church - Sardis
Tuesdays ■ 7-8 PH
GROW YOUR BUSINESS AND HOST YOUR NEXT MEETING/EVENT
New Office Building Offers Shared Workspace, Private Offices
and Meeting and Event Space at Affordable Rates The Legacy
Center in East Point, GA provides shared workspace member
ships for creatives, small businesses and entrepreneurs
starting at $99/month. Meeting rooms and private
event spaces are also available for members and the greater
community.
SCHEDULE YOUR VISIT TODAY
833.3.LEGACY | LEGACYCENTER.COM | INFO@LEGACYCENTER.COM
CHANCE &HYDHICK
Locally Owned & Operated
.cknitCtitnJliydrl(k.COn)
Jane and George DeLoach
706-833-9867 or 706-551-5100
wu/w.burkememovialcom
Phinazee
& Son
FUNERAL HOME
554-5500
404 West 8th Street
Need A
Business Card
Invitation
Brochure
Logo
Form
Ticket
Poster
Letterhead
All this and more
CITIZEN
GRAPHICS
Design - Print - Advertising
Inside the True Citizen Building
629 Shadrack Street
Waynesboro, GA
706-554-2111
Let Us Help
Vol Prescott, Steve Sirmoni, Jason MeKerley