One Year Since Taking Office, the Biden-Harris Administration Continues to Take Bold Action to Protect Georgians Against COVID-19

With tomorrow marking one year since President Biden and Vice President Harris were inaugurated, the Biden-Harris administration is continuing to take bold measures to protect Georgians against COVID-19. This week, the White House launched a program to distribute one billion free, at-home rapid COVID-19 tests to any American household that requests one and that the Biden-Harris administration will be making 400 million N95 masks available to Americans for free. This builds on the aggressive action President Biden has taken over the past year to tackle this pandemic.

Thanks to the historic vaccination program in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, millions of Georgians have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. Despite unanimous opposition from Brian Kemp and Georgia’s GOP congressional delegation, the American Rescue Plan has helped Georgia counties incentivize vaccines and boosters, purchase free at-home COVID tests, and bolstered resources at health care centers across the state. All of these steps have and will continue to save countless Georgians’ lives.

“In just one year under the Biden-Harris administration’s leadership, Georgia has made significant strides in the fight against COVID-19. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and bold steps to protect Americans against coronavirus have gotten millions of shots in Georgians’ arms, are putting safe masks and free tests in Georgians’ hands, and continue to get Georgians back to work at record levels,” Rhyan Lake, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Georgia, said. “There is still work to be done to ensure that every Georgian is protected from this global pandemic, but President Biden’s leadership has drastically improved the health and livelihoods of countless Georgians.”

Read more about how the Biden-Harris administration is working to protect Georgians against COVID-19:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Can’t find a COVID-19 test? DeKalb to hand out 5,000 at-home tests Thursday

• DeKalb County is making thousands of at-home COVID-19 rapid tests available to help increase testing access amid the surge in omicron cases.
  
• […] DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond announced Wednesday that the county will make 5,000 at-home test kits available to residents to try to bridge the testing gap. The tests will be distributed today starting at 9 a.m. at three locations while supplies last.
  
• Thurmond told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that American Rescue Plan Act funds are being used to purchase the tests. He added that the county will continue to look for large supplies of at-home tests and will likely hold future drive-thru events as long as testing demand remains high.

WTOC11 (Savannah): Community relieved to get free COVID tests

• If you talk to anyone who has tried finding an at home COVID-19 test lately, they’ll tell you, the tests are hard to find. The White House is trying to change that by offering FREE tests online. People around the country started signing up Tuesday.
• The federal website opened earlier today. The official launch is Wednesday, but it’s working in a limited capacity today.
• The Biden Administration said the website went live early to make sure there aren’t technical problems. Supplies will be limited to four tests per household. The tests will ship within 7 to 12 days after you order them.
  People in Savannah said they’re getting their test kits immediately.
  Pharmacies like Georgetown Drug Company hasn’t been able to keep the tests in stock. The owner said this is the relief many of them need right now.
• Pharmacist and owner of Georgetown Drug Company Neal Hollis said they’ve been overwhelmed with rapid COVID tests and they can’t keep the take-home tests in stock when they get them. They got a shipment of about 72 last week and they were gone in two days.
• Hollis said the pharmacies needed the relief. “I think it’s great for the families that can’t come out here or even can’t find the COVID tests. Just good to have something they can rely on,” he said.
• That’s why Lauren Boyle, a teacher at West Chatham Middle School ordered her tests this morning. She said she tests regularly so she goes through a lot of them. “I thought it was awesome. It’s really nice because it’s been really hard to find them recently, especially with everybody getting it and I work at the schools so even if I have a sniffle, I’m always like oh my gosh, do I have Omicron?” said Lauren Boyle, teacher at West Chatham Middle School.
• Janey Robideau said she’s excited because she didn’t even know they were available for free. “I think it’s wonderful. I don’t know why they didn’t do this months ago before the new variant came; it might’ve stopped things from spreading,” said Janey Robideau, who lives in the area.
• Hollis said for his pharmacy, being there for the community in times like this is big for them, but they hope extra tests will help them get the pharmacy back to normal.
• “It will relieve the burden. I don’t even want to call it a burden because we help the community as well by giving tests, but I do think it will give us some sigh of relief that it will take some of the extra workload off of us,” he said.

11Alive (Atlanta): This Georgia county is offering $100 at COVID vaccination events

• Nearly two years into the pandemic, Gwinnett County wants to eradicate the coronavirus for good and is offering $100 to those who help this weekend.
• The county is offering residents who roll up their sleeves for a free coronavirus vaccine a $100 Visa gift card at its community immunization events, according to a news release. Event organizers said the gift card is to help alleviate holiday expenses for families while encouraging protection against COVID-19.
• The incentive is for anyone five years old or older, while supplies last. Anyone getting a shot, whether a booster or first-dose is eligible for a gift card. The county said it is using federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund the incentive.

11Alive (Atlanta): Fulton County resuming $100 gift card vaccine incentives | Here’s what to know

• Fulton County’s vaccine incentive program will soon start up again.
• Starting Tuesday, Nov. 16 through Saturday, Dec. 4, Fulton County residents will be eligible to receive a $100 gift card after receiving their first or second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The county said the incentive is only available to residents ages 5 and up. 
• The county said the vaccine incentives will be funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. The Fulton County Board of Health and the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Agency will operate three vaccination sites. 

13WMAZ (Macon): Bibb commissioners hope vaccine incentive for county employees saves on pandemic-related costs

• Macon-Bibb County employees who are fully vaccinated or who get vaccinated by the end of September will get some extra cash in their paycheck.
• That’s thanks to Bibb County commissioners who voted 6 to 2 to approve using American Rescue Plan money to fund the vaccine incentive.
• Tuesday night’s vote means a full-time employee who is already fully-vaccinated or gets vaccinated by the end of September will get $500. Part-time employees will get $250.
• Mayor Lester Miller says it’s all coming from American Rescue Plan funding, and it’s money well-spent. In the end, he says it could save the county some extra cash in the long run.
• “This is one small step we’re taking so that we don’t have a government shutdown,” Miller said.

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