No Time Off For Georgia’s Public Health Workers As Vaccination Help Is Needed

Susanna Capelouto , Sam Whitehead | WABE

January 29th, 2021

Georgia officials say they want to make sure the COVID-19 vaccine is not only distributed to providers around the state, but they also want to ensure people are vaccinated as “expeditiously” as possible.

John Bazemore / Associated PRess

The Georgia Department of Public Health has frozen annual leave for its approximately 7,000 full-time employees as the state embarks on a massive vaccination effort.

Officials say they want to make sure the COVID-19 vaccine is not only distributed to providers around the state, but they also want to ensure people are vaccinated as “expeditiously” as possible.

“To support this most critical effort, we need all hands-on-deck,” the department told employees in an email sent out earlier this month and obtained by WABE through an open records request.

The leave moratorium is set for three months, but the email says is can be suspended earlier or extended depending on what’s needed.

Employees are also told they could be redeployed temporarily to one of the 18 health-district offices around the state to help with capacity, including work on weekends.

The move comes as state lawmakers are working to add funding to the department. Under the current proposal, there’s money for just three new positions and $18 million for vaccine tracking.

In budget hearings before state lawmakers earlier this month, Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said that the department is using mostly federal dollars for its pandemic response.

DHP is in the process of setting up mass vaccination sites to get ready for expanded vaccine eligibility. Currently, Georgia is vaccinating group 1A+, which includes health care workers, first responders and Georgians over 65 years old.