COVINGTON, Ga. — Within three hours of launching its online reservation system, nearly 100 Publix Pharmacy locations planned to soon begin administering COVID-19 vaccinations across the state of Georgia are “fully booked.”
Publix and the state of Georgia recently announced its partnership to advance distribution of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to 97 Publix Pharmacy locations, including Newton County.
Vaccinations will be provided by appointment only, while supplies last, through the online reservation system at publix.com/covidvaccine, which opened Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 6 a.m. for appointment times starting Thursday, Feb. 4. Appointments cannot be made by calling Publix or the Publix Pharmacy.
Currently, the only people eligible to schedule an appointment are first responders, health care workers, adults age 65 years old and up and their caregivers, and residents and staff of longterm care facilities, which follows the state’s current guidelines.
Publix planned to make the vaccine available at Newton County’s lone store location at 13015 Brown Bridge Rd.
By 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, all counties listed in the states of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina were “fully booked.” Additional appointments will be announced as Publix receives more inventory.
If a person currently has the virus, the CDC suggests deferring the vaccine “until recovery, and until criteria have been met to discontinue isolation.” The CDC also suggests waiting until the quarantine period is over before scheduling a vaccination if a person has been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus.
If a person has received passive antibody therapy treatment for COVID-19, the CDC recommends waiting to get the vaccine for 90 days after treatment. It’s also recommended to wait on getting a vaccine if a person has received another vaccine within the last 14 days.
The vaccine will be made available to eligible individuals at no cost to the individual.
Customers with health insurance will need to bring their insurance card to their scheduled appointment. Medicare members should bring their red, white and blue Medicare Part B card.
Customers without health insurance will need to provide their driver’s license or Social Security number.
