MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Governor Kay Ivey announced plans for the Alabama National Guard to help get COVID vaccines to rural areas in Alabama. The mobile vaccination sites will be set up in at least 24 counties beginning March 23.
Ivey's office says that as part of her activation of the Alabama National Guard (ALNG) to support the state’s COVID-19 response, the mobile vaccination teams will rotate through the designated counties. The ALNG and the Alabama Department of Public Health will be working closely with local EMAs to determine the sites and logistics. Locations have not been released.
By adding the ALNG, the state hopes to administer 8,000 more doses a week. The ALNG is capable of fielding two mobile vaccination teams of 55 people each. The ADPH, county health departments and local law enforcement will also provide support.
Governor Ivey also shared the following comment:
"As we continue ramping up our vaccine distribution efforts, the guardsmen will play a critical role in reaching folks in rural areas of Alabama. We want to use every tool in our toolkit so that we can get COVID-19 behind us once and for all. The Guard and Public Health will be working closely with county emergency management officials to determine the sites, and we will be sharing that information once it is finalized. Please take advantage of this resource if you are able, but I continue urging patience as we continue working to get our hands on more supplies from the federal government. Folks, we can have hope, because, finally, we can see the end of COVID-19.”
"This is just the ongoing work trying to get the vaccine out in the state of Alabama," says Alabama Department of Public Health's Assistant State Health Officer, Dr. Karen Landers.
Landers says we're currently in Phase 1B, however some people in Phase 1C have been vaccinated.
"Although we continue evaluate for additional steps in the allocation plan because we actually know there are other people who need COVID-19 vaccine," says Landers.