Dougherty Co. plans third COVID vaccination incentive drive-thru

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Dougherty County Commissioners gave the go-ahead for a third COVID-19 vaccine incentive.

They are planning for the next vaccine drive-thru at the Albany Civic Center on Nov. 6. This comes after initially only planning for two incentive events.

Dougherty County Commission Chairman Christopher Cohilas said having another one is a no-brainer.

“This is an out-of-the-box idea. Glad we figured out how to get folks there and get it done,” said Cohilas.

Over the weekend, they were able to vaccinate 875 people.

Over 400 people got their second dose and over 300 got their first. A little more than 60 people got their booster.

Because of the number of first-timers, Commissioner Anthony Jones asked the commission to have another.

“Allow us to do one drive on Nov. 6. One more run of this to make sure we can get these folks, almost 400 folks, back at another time and also get us ready to go into the holiday season of fellowship,” said Jones.

Cohilas said getting as many people vaccinated before the holidays is a good strategy, reflecting on what happened last year.

“How the numbers went up last year during the holidays, we knew it told folks it was going to happen. Then we started, the dead bodies just started piling. It’s a good point well taken. let’s make it happen,” said Cohilas.

After originally allotting a little more than $300,000 dollars for the vaccine incentive, County Administrator Michael McCoy said they took into account the possibility for a third incentive event.

“I think we’re still in good shape. We may be still under budget and do this third event, but if not, we’re going to come back to the board and seek additional funding that we need to carry out the program,” said McCoy.

He said for the third one, if they need additional funding, it will come through American Rescue Plan funding.

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