The Latin American Association recently honored Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey; Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Director Dr. Audrey Arona; and Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) with the Pacesetter Award for their work in providing COVID vaccinations to Latinx communities in Georgia and our three counties.

The LAA Pacesetter Award is named in honor of Mrs. Olga C de Goizueta and is presented to an individual or group whose extraordinary efforts have significantly advanced the Latino community in Georgia and carried on Mrs. Goizueta’s lasting legacy.

“Due to the tremendous effort by DPH, the local health department, and CORE to understand and respond to the needs of the Latinx community, we want to respond by honoring both Drs. Toomey and Arona as well as CORE with the award,” said Santiago Marquez, CEO of the Latin American Association. “They are saving lives!”

Learn more about vaccination options at our mass vaccination sites, health centers, and our partnership with CORE — all which include walk-in availability.

Beginning Tuesday, May 12, 2021, everyone 12 and over is eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

Currently, Pfizer is the only COVID vaccine currently approved for children aged 12 through 17.

Click here to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine or to schedule an appointment.

On March 23, Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Public Health announced the state will expand its vaccine eligibility.

Beginning Thursday, March 25, 2021, all Georgians 16 and over are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

Pfizer vaccine is authorized for emergency use for individuals 16 and older. Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines are authorized for emergency use for individuals 18 and older.

Click here to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine or to schedule an appointment, when available.

This year Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments along with our partner, Diabetes You Can Win Foundation Inc., is helping the community become aware of their diabetes risk by hosting two local events on Diabetes Awareness Day (formerly Diabetes Alert Day) March 23.

Diabetes is a leading cause of death in Georgia and the United States. Approximately 1 in 10 Georgia adults has diabetes. As of 2018, over 9% of Hispanics, 12% of whites and over 15% of blacks have the disease. Risk for developing diabetes increases with lower education levels and lower incomes.

Currently, diabetes affects about 34.2 million Americans or about 10.5 percent of the U.S. population. Nearly 1 in 5 adults living with diabetes, or 7.3 million Americans, are unaware that they have the disease. More than 84 percent of people living with prediabetes don’t even know they have it!

Diabetes is a serious disease. When left untreated, individuals are at increased risk for damage to organs such as the heart, eyes, kidneys, and feet. Typically, there are no symptoms of diabetes until significant damage is already done, but for the majority of people, there are steps that can be taken to prevent or delay developing the disease when they know they are at risk!

You can understand your risk for developing diabetes online, or for more information and healthy life-style tips, join us March 23 in-person or virtually:

Lenora Park Community Garden 11 a.m.

Join us on Facebook Live or on-site for a socially distanced, outdoor event from the Community Garden, located at 3195 Lee Road in Snellville. Learn to grow food, reduce your risk for diabetes and, if you’re inclined, workout with us!

Norcross Health Center 12 p.m.

The health center, located at 5030 Georgia Belle Court in Norcross, will offer no cost blood sugar and blood pressure screening starting at 12PM. Join us on Facebook Live to chat about diabetes and learn what you can do to reduce your risk for developing it.

Participate in both events on Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/DiabetesYouCanWinFoundationInc.

If you can’t make our events, we encourage you to take a simple and anonymous one-minute test to find out if you are at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. You’ll answer questions such as, “Do you have a family history of diabetes?” and “Are you physically active?” to learn your diabetes risk in 60 seconds. It’s that simple.

Learn more about this disease, how to prevent it, and how to fight back to help transform your life at www.diabetes.org/diabetes-risk.

We hope you’ll join us by discovering your Type 2 diabetes risk this year for Awareness Day, and help others do the same.

Learn more about the no cost diabetes prevention and education programs offered by the health department.

Can’t make our event? Get screened at our health centers!

Join us on March 24 from 3-4 p.m. to discuss the significance of women’s health. Prevention Starts with Me is a one-hour Zoom discussion centering on women’s health disparities and how to overcome them. This meeting is free and open to the public. Please join us.

Speakers include:

Heather Kawpunna, MPH
Health Programs Specialist
Center for Pan Asian Community Services (CPACS)

Lavanzia Malwah
View Point Health
Infection Prevention Coordinator

Dorian Freeman MPH, MSN, ASN
Clinical Infectious Disease Program Director
Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments

Interested? Just join the meeting from a smart phone or computer March 24 at 3 p.m.

Zoom Meeting Information:
https://zoom.us/j/99833477066?pwd=dW1hWHpJbzdaRTkzb29JMjlmT0NDUT09
Meeting ID: 998 3347 7066
Passcode: 298063

On March 10, the Georgia Department of Public Health and Governor Brian Kemp announced the state will expand its vaccine eligibility.

Beginning March 15, 2021, the following populations will be eligible for COVID vaccination in Georgia:

• Adults 55 and older
• Adults with disabilities
• Individuals 16 and older with certain medical conditions that increase their risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Note: Pfizer is the only COVID vaccine currently approved for children 16 and older. Conditions include:
  • Asthma
  • Cancer
  • Cerebrovascular Disease
  • Chronic Kidney Disease
  • COPD
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Diabetes
  • Hypertension
  • Heart Conditions
  • Immunocompromised State
  • Liver Disease
  • Neurologic Conditions
  • Overweight and Obesity
  • Pregnancy
  • Pulmonary Fibrosis
  • Sickle Cell Disease
  • Thalassemia

The Health Department continues to vaccinate currently eligible Georgians, which include:

• Staff in clinical settings
• Residents and staff of long-term care facilities
• First responders, adults 65+ and their caregivers
• Educators and staff (Pre-K, K-12, DECAL licensed or exempt childcare programs)
• Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers
• Parents of children with complex medical conditions who are at high risk for COVID complications

Click here to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine or to schedule an appointment, when available.

In a press conference February 25, Governor Brian Kemp announced that Pre-K and DECAL (Georgia Department of Early Childcare and Learning) educators and school staff, private and public K-12 educators and school staff, individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, and parents of children who have complex medical conditions will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination starting March 8.

Effective March 8, the Health Department will expand vaccinations to include the following Georgians:

• Pre-K, DECAL and K-12 educators and school staff
• Adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities and their caregivers
  • Intellectual Disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 22.
  • A developmental disability is a physical or mental impairment that happens before the age of 22, is expected to last a lifetime, and impacts at least three activities of daily living. Activities of daily living include self-care; receptive and expressive language; learning; mobility; self-direction; capacity for independent living; and economic self-sufficiency.
• Parents of children who have complex medical conditions
  • Malignancies requiring active treatment
  • Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) including organ transplant (bone marrow or solid organ) within 2 years
  • Critical congenital heart disease
  • Asthma (moderate to severe)
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Diabetes
  • Obesity (BMI >95%)
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Significant neurologic injury or condition (e.g. hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, traumatic brain injury, congenital anomaly, acute flaccid myelitis) with functional/developmental impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy, developmental disability, prematurity, mitochondrial disease)
  • Technology dependence (e.g. BiPAP, trach)

The Health Department continues to vaccinate currently eligible Georgians which includes staff in clinical settings, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, first responders and adults 65+ and their caregivers.

Click here to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine or to schedule an appointment, when available.

Updated March 5, 2021.
Complex medical conditions defined by DPH.

UPDATE – Tuesday, Feb. 16 – 6:15AM

The Health Department will operate during normal business hours. There are NO delays in opening. Vaccine appointments will be served at regular scheduled times at Gwinnett Place Mall and Springfield Baptist Church.

——

As of Monday evening, Feb. 15, the Health Department plans to operate normal hours on Tuesday, February 16. Currently, there is no delay in opening.

If weather/road conditions change, we will update this page with more information regarding delays no later than 6:30AM Feb. 16.

Currently, vaccine appointments will be served at regular scheduled times at Gwinnett Place Mall and Springfield Baptist Church.

Beginning Monday, Feb. 15, the Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments are moving one of their vaccination sites to Springfield Baptist Church located at 1877 Iris Dr SE, Conyers, GA 30013. The previous site was located at Rockdale Career Academy through Friday, Feb. 12.

All second-dose appointments made at Rockdale Career Academy or previously at Newton County Health Center will now be served at Springfield Baptist Church at the same date and time originally scheduled. Patients are asked to bring their initial confirmation to the appointment. The Health Department will also be sending alerts to patients scheduled to notify them of this change.

The site change occurs as classes are scheduled to return to Rockdale Career Academy. “We’re incredibly grateful to Superintendent Oatts and his team for allowing us to use their site, which helped us expand our vaccination capacity in this area of our district,” said Dr. Audrey Arona, district health director for Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments.

Springfield Baptist Church, a constant location for COVID-19 testing early on, will now operate as a vaccine site moving forward. “We are so appreciative of Pastor Wendel Lee and Paul Clayton of Springfield Baptist Church for offering and readying their location so we can continue making vaccine available to individuals in Rockdale and Newton counties,” Dr. Arona said. “We are so fortunate to have our community partners come forward to support this operation.”

The Health Department offers vaccine by-appointment only to individuals in Phase 1A. Appointments are fully booked through Saturday, Feb. 20. Walk-ins cannot be accommodated. When available, appointments can only be scheduled through the Health Department’s website: www.gnrhealth.com/covid-vaccine-scheduling.

Gwinnett County Government and the Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale County Health Departments worked together to convert the bottom floor of the former Sears building at Gwinnett Place Mall into a mass vaccination center that will accommodate immunizing up to 3,000 people a day as vaccines become available.

“GNR Health is thrilled to partner with Gwinnett County to provide a static mass vaccination site that is central to serve our county,” said Dr. Audrey Arona, district health director of the Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale County Health Departments. “We a owe debt of gratitude to Chairwoman Hendrickson and her team for their contribution, including quickly readying the space for our use.”

The 80,000-square-foot site will be available for vaccinations starting Saturday, Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but appointments are required. Appointments can only be made at www.GNRHealth.com/covid-vaccine-scheduling. Individuals should bring an insurance card, photo ID, and proof of employment, such as a hospital badge, if applicable, to the appointment. Anyone needing assistance with mobility or other issues should bring someone with them to the appointment to help. Second dose appointments are made during the first appointment.

Currently, the limited supply of vaccines is reserved for health care workers, first responders, long-term care staff and their residents, and adults 65 and older and their caregivers.

GNR Health is scheduling appointments according to the supply of vaccine on hand. Currently, GNR Health is vaccinating about 1,000 people a day in Gwinnett County.

Previously the Health Department was vaccinating at the Lawrenceville Health Center. All second-dose appointments made at that location will now be served at Gwinnett Place. 

Initially the former Sears building vaccination center will be able to accommodate shots for up to 1,000 people a day but eventually will be able to vaccinate up to 3,000 people daily as more vaccine is allocated.

The space is organized with social distancing in mind with directional signs and floor markers telling people where to stand safely apart. The public will enter through the main doors where they will be checked in and then follow stanchions to vaccination stations. After getting a shot, they will be allowed to rest in a large observation area for 15 to 30 minutes. Paramedics will be onsite for emergencies.

The location was converted from vacant space to a vaccination center in about two weeks.

“This has been a very gratifying project,” said Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. “This will help protect the community and help us get back to normal, so the staff was very enthusiastic about getting this done. It took a lot of coordination with GNR Health and the Department of Support Services with planning, Fire and Emergency Services with inspections, Planning and Development with plan review and onsite inspections, and Transportation with traffic improvements, to name just a few departments that worked to get the site up and running. It was a great team effort, and I’m really proud of everyone involved.”

The Sears space is being leased to the County at no cost from NW Duluth LLC through Dec. 31. The County and GNR Health considered several sites before settling on the old Sears building because it was in fairly good shape.

Once the contract was approved in late January, numerous county employees, consultants and contractors went to work to tune up the heating and air conditioning, install electrical outlets for computers, replace ceiling tiles, repair plumbing, lay out stanchions for crowd control, give the space a deep cleaning, produce interior and exterior signs, repair the parking lot, and add handicap signage and pavement markings.

Drive-thru testing services at the site will be added in February.

Funding for the project was covered by the federal CARES Act.

GNR Health needs volunteers to help staff the vaccination center. People interested in helping should contact the Medical Reserve Corps, MRC GEM, at www.mrcgem.com/join. Volunteers do not have to be a medical professional to join and can serve in a non-clinical capacity.

View the Press Conference