South Georgia Medical Center will operate two COVID-19 vaccination drive-thru locations on Saturday, Aug. 28 from 9am-3pm. All unvaccinated persons 12 and older are encouraged to visit either the SGMC Main Campus or SGMC Smith Northview Campus to receive their free COVID-19 vaccine.
The hospital says they already have 500 people scheduled to receive their second COVID-19 dose at the Smith Northview location, which is why the decision was made to open up a second location on that day. Event organizers say they have a goal of 1,000 total vaccinations for this Saturday.
SGMC will also be administering the third COVID-19 vaccine to individuals who are immunocompromised according to CDC guidelines.
COVID-19 positive hospitalization numbers within the health system have doubled in the last two weeks and testing demand has hit record highs with more than 1,000 tests performed daily.
“The only way out of the pandemic is to increase our region’s vaccination rates. The data at our hospital is on trend with the nation, vaccinated individuals are far less likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19,” said SGMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Dawson. “Our teams have been working around the clock with increasing volumes, tests, and treatment, so I believe the fact that they are willing to work an additional Saturday to help vaccinate our community speaks volumes.”
SGMC will be administering the Pfizer vaccine and interested individuals can pre-register online at sgmc.org, call 229-433-1068, or simply visit the SGMC Main Campus located at 2417 N. Patterson Street or the SGMC Smith Northview Campus located at 4280 N. Valdosta Road in Valdosta on Saturday, Aug. 28 from 9am-3pm.