While everyone over 16 who lives in Georgia can now get the COVID-19 Vaccine, some are still hesitant to get the shot.
ATLANTA — Eight million Georgians became eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine on March 25 - but with that much demand - some people are asking how to get it as others are still deciding if they want to get it. Gov. Brian Kemp expanded eligibility to all Georgians 16 years and older and some people who just became eligible were already able to get vaccinated.
"I applied, they emailed me within a day, two days. The line was pretty long, but it was efficient," said Evan Faunce.
He was excited outside to the mass vaccination site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday. Evan said getting his shot gave him hope.
"It was extremely important. Last year was rough for us all. I had to leave what I was doing with my job, it was a wave of relief," he said.
The expanded eligibility caused frustration for a lot of people trying to sign up for the vaccine in the morning. While every Georgian 16 and up became eligible for the vaccine at midnight, the state website didn't roll over automatically at first, and some people who stayed up late weren't able to sign up under the updated guidelines. By 7 a.m., the site was updated with the updated eligibility requirements. Others said they had to hit refresh over and over and over again on the websites designed to get people signed up.
Kroger, Walgreens, and Walmart all advise people to keep checking back as vaccine appointments are updated every couple of hours.
RELATED: How to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia
While he was able to get an appointment quickly, he said dedicating time to make it was worth the wait.
"I have a mother who I want to see. I am doing it for her," he said.
Vaccine hesitancy
A recent healthcare poll found that 31% of Americans still want to wait and see. More people are getting vaccinated now, and the Department of Health said sign-ups to get the vaccine have been steadily increasing.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation Poll, about 30% of Americans still say they want to wait and see.
Tiffany Grant Brown was one of them.
"Initially I was like, oh I don't know, absolutely not," she said.
As a healthcare worker, the vaccine was available early for her but she waited about six weeks before she actually signed up. She said she wanted to talk to her doctor and her daughter's pediatrician before she went ahead with it.
"It gives us a sense of peace, and it gives us a sense of immediate control over what our baby might be exposed to," she said.
She was not alone in her hesitancy.
About 1/3 of Americans report wanting to wait a year or so to see how the vaccine affects other people before deciding to get the shot themselves.
Tiffany said after doing the research, she's glad she did it.
"I think we are all breathing a sigh of relief with accessibility increasing for Georgians and across the country," she said.
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine appointment
If you pre-registered to get a vaccine with the state health department - you should have an email in your inbox right now to sign up.
You can also register with Kroger, CVS, Walmart, Walgreens - they say if you don't see an appointment time right away, keep refreshing the website as new appointments populate every few hours.
RELATED: Here is a list of Georgia colleges' vaccine rollout plans
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