Feb. 8, 2021
COVID-19 & Vaccination Update:
From the Desk of Mayor Mike Bodker
Greetings Johns Creek!

We are seeing some changes in the transmission rates of COVID-19 in Johns Creek as well as Fulton County. The decrease in the number of new cases and new hospitalizations is encouraging and this is the direction we need to continue pursuing. 
 
Some of our overall regional numbers and trends are showing signs of improvement as well. For the first time in many months we experienced a continued reduction in the overall incidence rate. This an important indicator as the overall Incidence Rate in Johns Creek underwent a 24.8% decrease as compared to the last reporting period. We must remain cautious, vigilant, and attentive to not risking exposure to and not transmitting this virus. Please don’t lose sight of what we need to do to reduce the amount of infections in our community. 
 
I’m pleased to share the following important information on the COVID-19 vaccine availability in Fulton County. Please note that you are able to go to any public health site in the state to sign up to receive the vaccine. Fulton County has three vaccination sites open at this time. When you sign up to get an appointment, you will see one or more of these sites that have available appointments. 
 
If the site closest to you does not have available appointments, you can either wait for a future appointment or choose another site. If no appointments are available, please check back in a few days. Appointments are required at all sites.
 
COVID VACCINE INFORMATION
At this time, the following are eligible to receive vaccines:
  • Paid or unpaid people serving in healthcare settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including but not limited to Staff in clinical settings (e.g. nurses, physicians, EMS, laboratory, environmental services, etc.)
  • Long-term care facilities staff and residents
  • Adults 65 + and their caregivers
  • First Responders (fire, police, sheriff, 9-1-1 personnel, etc.)
  • If you are eligible to receive a vaccine, you can schedule an appointment using these steps:
 
FIRST DOSE APPOINTMENTS
Online
1)  Visit the Board of Health information page, scroll down and enter your email address to join the waiting list.
2) You will be notified when an appointment slot opens up. This may take several weeks.
3) When you receive your email notification, you will be directed to sign up online.
Remember you must meet the qualifications to schedule your vaccine appointment.
 
By Phone
1) Put your name on the vaccine wait list by calling 404-613-8150 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.  
2) After joining the wait list, you will be notified by phone when an appointment slot opens up. This may take several weeks.
3) Call volume is high at peak times. If you are not able to get through, please try again later.
 
SECOND DOSE APPOINTMENTS
1)   If you received your first vaccination before January 20, 2-5 days before your return date, you will be notified when to schedule a second appointment. If you receive your vaccination after January 20, you will schedule your second appointment on the day that you receive your first vaccination.
2)   Employees of healthcare organizations, school systems and public safety organizations will be scheduled for second doses of vaccine through the agencies that scheduled their initial appointments.
Please do NOT report to the vaccine site for a second dose without an appointment. No vaccines will be given without an appointment.

NEW VACCINE LOCATOR:
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is coordinating vaccine distributions to locations throughout Georgia. As part of this effort, the DPH has developed a "Vaccine Locator" tool where citizens can type in the name of a city or facility to see a filtered list of vaccination sites. The City of Johns Creek has used this data to display a map which shows all of the locations within the DPH’s Vaccine Locator tool as points on a map so the public can more easily find their nearest vaccination site. You can access the tool at: https://datahub.johnscreekga.gov/pages/covid-vaccine
 
Please note that none of these sites are managed by the City of Johns Creek. In order to get vaccinated, you will need to contact one of the locations in the map below or contact your doctor.

For additional information on the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the Fulton County Board of Health COVID-19 vaccine page:
In coming months, when greater quantities of the vaccine become available, it will be available to more people. In time, everyone who wants to the vaccine will be able to get it. 
In the recent two week reporting period (1/16-1/29), there were fewer new cases of COVID-19 in Fulton County than the previous two weeks (1/2-1/15).
 
According to additional data sources including state and local health agencies and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, cases in Fulton County are extremely high but have decreased over the past two weeks. The number of hospitalized Covid patients has risen in the Fulton County area, and I.C.U. occupancy is very high. Deaths have remained at about the same level while the test positivity rate in Fulton County is very high, suggesting that cases could be significantly undercounted.
 
The recent decrease in new diagnoses is positive news but we need to be careful. There were 161 fewer new diagnoses between the most recent 14 days (1/16 to 1/29) preceding the most recent 7 days and the 14 days preceding that (1/2 to 1/15).
TESTING INFORMATION: If you believe you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please take the initiative to get tested. You may schedule a free COVID-19 test regardless of symptoms at covid19.dph.ga.gov and for appointments by phone call 404-613-8150. However it is quicker to schedule an appointment online due to the volume of calls. Calls are accepted during these times: 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Testing site locations, dates, and/or times are subject to change. For the latest information on testing, please visit: https://www.fultoncountyga.gov/covid-19/covid-testing-sites
 
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at

Please follow CDC guidelines and let’s CONTINUE to reduce our numbers.

Stay safe,
Mike Bodker
Mayor, City of Johns Creek