A look at major COVID-19 developments over the past week – Atlanta Journal Constitution

Heres a look at major COVID-19 developments over the past week.

Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Director James Stallings speaks to members of the press to give an update on COVID-19 vaccine distribution. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

After weeks of pressure from frustrated parents and teacher groups, Kemp announced that the states roughly 450,000 educators and school staffers will join the pool of those eligible for vaccines on March 8, along with adults with intellectual disabilities and parents of children with complex medical conditions.

Kemp tied the expansion, which officials said will add an estimated 1 million more people to the vaccine pool, to resuming in-person classes in school districts that havent reopened.

Our children cannot afford to wait until the fall. The costs are simply too high, Kemp said. Georgians deserve to return to normal as soon as possible, and that will not happen without schoolhouse doors open for face-to-face instruction each and every day.

The governor and state health officials have been reluctant to move teachers up in the line, saying the scarce supply of vaccines already has made it difficult to inoculate Georgians who are 65 and older, plus other high-risk residents.

But hes now prepared to do so after seeing a partial state survey suggesting tepid demand for vaccines from educators, as well as a slight increase in the states supply of vaccines.

Before the announcement, the governor had faced tremendous outcry from teachers and parents angry that most educators have yet to receive vaccines in Georgia. They were upset about Kemps decision to move people age 65 and older from the third inoculation phase to the first, leapfrogging teachers in Phase 1b, who were set to be next in line.

While most school districts have resumed in-person learning, the governor has expressed increasing frustration at public school systems that havent. He urged administrators in those school systems not to wait until teachers are inoculated or until next school year.

Im not ordering schools to open, Kemp said. But, I believe now with this other tool, there should be no reason for us not to get kids back into the classroom.

Right now, the vaccine is limited to those who are 65 and older and their caregivers; first responders; health care workers; and staffers and residents of long-term care facilities. About 57% of older Georgians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Kemp said.

Not eligible yet are other medically fragile Georgians, though the governor indicated they would be included in the next expansion.

In this file photo, DeKalb County Board of Health medical worker Sandra Armstead, right, explains a few possible symptoms of the COVID-19 vaccination to Army Veteran and Rockdale County resident Larry Mitchell. She administered the vaccine to him during a DeKalb County Board of Health and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority event at the Lou Walker Senior Center in Stonecrest. (Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

The governor said his decision to expand the pool was eased by a state Department of Education survey last week that found only 45% of educators would choose to take the vaccine, saying there wasnt as much demand as he expected.

The success of the vaccination plan also hinges on hopes that the states allotment of vaccines will continue to rise. Georgia now receives about 215,000 first doses of vaccine a week, up from about 150,000 earlier this month.

Overall, Georgia has administered nearly 1.9 million vaccinations. The state has the fifth-lowest vaccination rate among all states per 100,000 residents, according to CDC data.

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter recently got vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Credit: @CarterCenter/Twitter

Credit: @CarterCenter/Twitter

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife have been cleared to return to their church in Plains after being fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Maranatha Baptist Church announced on its Facebook page that Carter, 96, and Rosalynn Carter, 93, were again attending worship in person. The couple has been in the sanctuary the last two Sundays, Pastor Tony Lowden said in a video.

The former president hasnt resumed teaching his Sunday school class. But video from last Sundays service showed both of the Carters sitting in their customary spots on the front pew and wearing face masks. The former president waved as members applauded their return.

Staff writers Eric Stirgus, Ty Tagami and Tim Darnell contributed to this article.

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A look at major COVID-19 developments over the past week - Atlanta Journal Constitution