More than 100 doses given to local residents meeting criteria, 74th death in Polk County reported on Monday

Polk County’s taking steps each day toward ensuring that COVID-19’s threat against everyone in the community is diminished until no more new cases are reported.

The county government teamed up with officials from Redmond Regional Medical Center on Wednesday morning, March 17, 2021 to provide the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to those who qualify. The clinic gave out the first dose to those 102 who signed up and took part, and will be coming back for the second dose during an upcoming event to be scheduled soon.

That included anyone over the age of 55, first responders, educators, judges and court staff, and many more who have been able to sign up for appointments and get the vaccine across the State of Georgia as more supply is being distributed across the country. The CDC reported that more than 113 million people have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The one handed out on Wednesday to local residents was the Pfizer vaccine. It is a two-part dose that requires a shot, then a break before a second booster dose is given to help provide immunity against COVID.

See below for a list of eligible persons able to get the vaccine in Georgia, and a link to find the vaccine locally.



COVID-19 continues to show up in Polk. The number of total PCR cases stood at 3,810 on the day, and the antigen cases were up to 1,535 in total since tracking began. Bringing the overall total to 5,345 positives for the virus since the first case was reported a year ago.

Since that time, 359 people have been hospitalized and 74 have died – 30 this year alone. The latest death was reported on Monday by the Department of Public Health. It was the third of the month of March.

COVID-19 has likely been the cause of 10 additional deaths locally as well, but being listed as probable since it wasn’t the definitive cause with additional factors involved.

More than 1 million Georgians have had the virus, more than 57,000 have needed hospital care, and sadly nearly 16,000 people have died.

More than 29.3 million nationwide have had or still have COVID-19, per the CDC numbers, and more than 534,000 have died since January 2020.



COVID-19 vaccination is opening up slowly to more people in Georgia, with eligibility now including those over the age of 55, Judges and court staff.

Additionally, those with cancer, moderate-to-severe asthma, heart conditions, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, hypertension, liver disease, COPD, chronic kidney disease, cerebrovascular disease and compromised immune systems. Caregivers are also eligible for children and adults with developmental disabilities, and both children and adults with developmental disabilities are eligible as well.

3.6 million doses of the vaccine have been shipped statewide, and 77% of that supply has gone out to Georgians in a variety of categories.



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