Georgia teachers now eligible to get vaccinated

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    ATLANTA (WGCL) — Teachers in the state of Georgia are eligible to get vaccinated starting Monday, and many are saying, “it’s about time.”

Starting Monday, Gwinnett Place Mall will be filled with Georgia residents getting their vaccine – many for the first time they’re eligible.

“It’s fantastic, at 2:45 on Tuesday I will get my first shot,” said Cobb County schools teacher, Kierstn Hollifield, “Publix opened up their portal on Thursday at 7 am for teachers to be able to start signing up.”

Up until now, many teachers have been driving to Alabama and Tennessee, where teachers became eligible for the vaccine in February.

“It was definitely worth it to me, because we just didn’t know when Georgia was going to make it available to us, and I didn’t want to wait,” added Miatta Smith, another Cobb County schools teacher.

On Monday, Governor Kemp is touring the state-operated mass vaccination site in Clarkesville and in Gwinnet County… the first day teachers are eligible for the shot in Georgia.

“It’s about time,” Smith said.

Many teachers feel they should have been higher up on the list:

“It was a priority for us to be in the classroom, but it was not a priority for us to be vaccinated,” Smith added.

“Especially for the push for in-person schooling, people didn’t want it done from home…we should have been considered a little bit earlier on, I also do understand the supply and demand issue,” said Hollifield.

After weeks of waiting and political pressure, Governor Kemp announced the expansion…thanks to the gradual increase of vaccine doses from the federal government.

“It was very important for students to be in the classroom, and for us to be in the classroom with them, for schools to be open, we should have definitely been on that list,” Smith said.

“I know it’s going to make me feel better,” added Hollifield.

Kemp said this expansion means around two million more Georgians will now be eligible for the vaccine.

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