Just as what we know about the novel coronavirus has evolved in the months since the pandemic began, we expect a similar situation when it comes to information related to timing and availability of vaccines at Longstreet Clinic. As we begin to receive our first doses of the vaccine, we will continue updating this list of FAQs as current information dictates.
Last updated Jan. 26, 2021
Yes, Longstreet Clinic submitted information necessary to the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to be a Vaccine Site for our employees, our patients and the community.
In January we began vaccinating our staff, as well as those who qualify as eligible during the current phase (see below for more details).
Longstreet Clinic began vaccinating our employees the week of Jan. 4, 2021, and have administered doses to approximately 200 of our staff. Prior to that, our providers with medical staff privileges at NGMC were able to receive the vaccine at the hospital. Additional employees had access to the vaccine via the health department. We believe the majority of our employees/physicians were vaccinated at public health departments and NGMC.
On Tuesday, Jan. 12, we received the first 300 doses of the 1,000 we initially requested. We have ordered an additional 1,500 doses, which brings our total request to 2,500 doses at this point.
To date, we have administered hundreds doses of the vaccine to those qualifying under Phase 1a+, most of them patients 65 and older as well as first responders.
Yes, we anticipate and are planning to have both vaccines available. We are unable to offer patients a choice between vaccines at this time due to supply issues.
Yes. We have been working diligently on our process since the vaccines were approved, and we submitted paperwork to the Georgia Department of Community Health to be a Vaccine Site. In addition to vaccinating all employees who requested it (who had not already received the vaccine elsewhere), on Monday, Jan. 11, as individuals age 65 and older became eligible, we had soft rollout of our planned vaccine clinics, administering doses to our retired physicians, their spouses and a few other community members.
We have created and continue to modify a regular schedule to administer the vaccine by appointment, which includes clinics on multiple days each week and at least one day every weekend. In fact, we administered more than 400 doses from Jan. 16 to 17, and another 400+ Jan. 23 and 24.
Yes, although like many other vaccine sites in our community as well as across the state and country, our supply – of both the vaccine and manpower – presents challenges.
When Gov. Kemp announced that beginning Jan. 11, 2021, individuals 65 and older as well as first responders could receive the vaccine, we began getting inquiries from patients. Because we did not yet know the timing or quantity of our allocation from the state, we began a list for interested, eligible individuals which quickly grew to exceed 1,000 people.
As we received notification of our first allocation from the state, we started creating a vaccine clinic schedule and have started contacting patients on the wait list and administering first doses of the vaccine to eligible individuals.
You do not have to be a patient to be vaccinated for COVID-19 at Longstreet Clinic. You do, however, have to be eligible under state guidelines. The Georgia Department of Public Health and the Governor’s Office have categorized the below groups in Phase 1a+ which includes:
*If you do not belong to one of the above listed categories, please do not call. We cannot place you on the list at this time.
If you belong to one of the categories in Phase 1a+ and wish to be placed on our wait list, you can:
Walk-ins WILL NOT be accepted. Vaccines are by appointment only. If you are not a member of Phase 1a+ (details above), please do not call. We cannot place you on the list at this time.
We appreciate your patience as we work through the challenges associated with limited supply of doses and staffing. Please be assured we are diligently working to obtain more doses and increase the manpower needed to effectively run a vaccine clinic that helps us achieve our goal of protecting the community from COVID-19. Please continue to wear your mask, social distance, wash your hands and avoid large gatherings.
Thank you for your patience in making an appointment. When you arrive at our Gainesville campus before your appointment, we encourage you to do so from the west via Prior Street.
One block of Broad Street, between Prior and Spring streets, has been closed to thru traffic, but patients with appointments for the vaccine should continue past the barrier to the designated parking area, which will be on your left. Once parked, please proceed across the street via the crosswalk and enter the building via Entrance A (look for the large blue “A”).
Registration will be on your left as you enter. You will be asked to complete paperwork before receiving the vaccine. Once complete, you will be required to stay for an observation period lasting from 15 to 30 minutes based on your medical history.
For more information about traffic closures and parking, click here.
The vaccine is provided free of charge. Commercial insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and other payors typically cover the cost for the provider to administer the vaccine.
For patients without health insurance or whose insurance does not provide coverage of the vaccine, the administrative charge will be billed to the Provider Relief Fund.
Due to the complexity of the current situation as well as CDC and DPH requirements, we have made the decision that initially we will establish a centralized vaccine site at the Gainesville Campus.
All vaccines will be administered in a newly renovated, accessible site on the first floor of our Gainesville campus at 725 Jesse Jewell Parkway SE (Suite 180, Entrance A). This is our former Pharmacy suite and is located at the entrance closest to Broad Street.
Vaccines will be given by appointment only. Over time we will continue to evaluate our ability to provide vaccines at other locations as supply and further guidance is developed.
Pregnant women have not been included in the clinical trial studies. While the vaccine MAY be beneficial for some high risk pregnant women, our recommendation is that women discuss the vaccine with their obstetrician.
The Pfizer vaccine is approved for ages 16 and older only. The Moderna vaccine is approved for ages 18 and older only.
We understand people have questions about the vaccine. The Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) recently released some helpful information surrounding this topic.
The latest edition of MAG’s ‘Top Docs’ show address the crucial need for people to get vaccinated and vaccine hesitancy – including one version in English that features Longstreet Clinic’s Andrew Reisman, M.D., and one version in Spanish that features Carlos del Rio, M.D., FIDSA.
Drs. Reisman and del Rio discuss…
Dr. Reisman is a family medicine physician with the Longstreet Clinic, a member of the Georgia Composite Medical Board, and MAG’s immediate past president. He graduated from the MAG Foundation’s Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy in 2008. Dr. Reisman has a medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine, and he completed his residency at the University of Maryland.
Dr. del Rio is a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine and the executive associate dean for Emory at Grady Hospital. In addition, he is the Hubert professor and chair of the Department of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health and a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. del Rio is a native of Mexico, where he attended medical school at Universidad La Salle. He completed his internal medicine and infectious diseases residencies at Emory University in Atlanta.
The Spanish-speaking episode is hosted by Georgia Board for Healthcare Workforce Chair Antonio Rios, M.D., F.A.C.P., CPE, who is one of the original physicians of Northeast Georgia Physicians Group in Gainesville. Dr. Rios has a medical degree from La Salle University in Mexico, and he completed his residency and fellowship at Emory University.
MAG ‘Top Docs’ show on vaccinations/vaccine hesitancy with Dr. Reisman
Programa MAG ‘Top Docs’ sobre vacunas/vacilaciones con el Dr. del Rio (en Español)
