About 58% of DeKalb County employees reported being fully vaccinated against COVID-19
Speaking to residents waiting in their vehicles at the James R. Hallford Stadium food and vaccine distribution site in Clarkston on Saturday, June 5, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said, “We want you to know we are all in this together and we are going to continue to fight COVID-19 until this harmful disease is eradicated from DeKalb County, the state of Georgia, the United States of America and all over this planet. We love you.” Photo by Dean Hesse.
DeKalb County, GA — About 58% of DeKalb County government employees have reported they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, county CEO Michael Thurmond announced during the DeKalb Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
About 34% of the county’s employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-9 and have received the flu vaccine.
In November, the commissioners unanimously approved Thurmond’s proposal to give employees $500 incentives for COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.
The county has about 6,300 employees. They are eligible to receive a $300 incentive after they provide vaccination documentation by Jan. 31, 2022. Employees can also receive a $200 incentive after they provide proof they have received the fall 2021 flu vaccination.
“These incentives are encouraging our employees to protect themselves, their families, friends and community against this deadly virus,” Thurmond said. “When our employees get [vaccinated], this increases the probability that we will maintain a healthy workforce that will us to continue to provide essential services to DeKalb County.”
The incentives are being paid for with approximately $1.9 million in American Rescue Plan funds and $1.3 million in the county’s annual operating budget.
As of Dec. 22, 53% of Georgia residents and 55% of DeKalb County residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
“My expectation and our hope is that we will exceed the national vaccination rate percentage here in DeKalb County, Georgia,” Thurmond said.”The fact that we’re at 58%, and we’re roughly halfway through the time period that we’ve set aside, speaks well about where we are, but more importantly it sets us up for future success. The only defense we have against this variant and the coming variant is to get as many of our people vaccinated.”
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