Bryce Ethridge | The Valdosta Daily TimesBefore taking the vaccine, Dr. William Grow, South Health District director, is asked questions about any COVID-19 symptoms he may be feeling or any other issues he’s had in the past. All patients who decide to take the vaccine will go through this process before injection.

VALDOSTA – Dr. William Grow is the first person in Lowndes County to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and he said he felt wonderful moments later.

Grow, director of the Georgia Department of Public Health South Health District, took the vaccine at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18, to demonstrate the harmlessness of taking it and the ease.

He took his first injection today, beginning with an educational video on the vaccine, and 21 days from now or more, he’ll be taking the second injection.

Grow said antibodies have been recorded to be produced 14 days after the first vaccine shot, but to receive its full efficacy, a person needs the second shot. It gives “full immunological competency” and full antibody production.

The unknown is if a booster shot will be needed a year from now much like the flu, he said, but taking the vaccine may be the only way society can return to normal.

“We’re going to be vaccinating as many people as possible in the next six-nine-12 months,” Grow said. “It’s the only way we’re going to get back to normal, go to church, have holidays with our families and go to movies.”

Thinking about getting those things back, he said he had no worries about taking the vaccine.

But also, there’s his job as director of the 10-county South Health District where he’s observed a stark increase of COVID-19 in Lowndes County.

“We’re seeing more of (it) in Lowndes County period than at any point,” Grow said. “We’re seeing more total numbers, more positive rates. We’re seeing more than even back in April when (the pandemic) first started.”

He said the vaccine is the way to get it under control. Grow understands there are worries going into it but he added it will all work out in the end.

Growing up in the 1950s, Grow and the rest of the nation dealt with polio and the subsequent vaccine. Society then, like now, were afraid to go to church, the swimming pool and out to eat, he said.

“My grandfather gave me the polio vaccine and I knew he would never do anything to hurt me and he didn’t.” Grow said. “Now, you don’t hear of polio anymore. You don’t (even) hear of smallpox.

Smallpox has been wiped off the planet, he said, and even with measles and mumps, a vaccine is required by law before going to school and college.

“I’m glad to be the first one to get it. I’m not afraid of it at least,” he said of the COVID-19 vaccine. “We’ve heard a few people have a sore arm like you do with flu shots, a low grade fever for maybe 24 hours.”

The latter is commonly heard from flu shots, too, Grow said, but people still get those flu shots. There have been few serious reactions to the vaccine reported but the Lowndes County Health Department is ready for it.

After the vaccine, the patient heads to the observation room where trained nurses record reactions and make sure the patient feels fine before leaving.

All nurses are prepared for any crisis that may occur, keeping the room stocked with all manner of medical aid, and EMTs and EMS are on standby if needed.

There are some unknowns about the vaccine with pregnant women, which the educational video addresses, but Grow said for pregnant women to take it, it’s between them and their doctor.

“There may be some concerns, but there are pregnant women who are getting vaccinated and I’ve read so far that there have been no problems,” he said.

But the vaccine has only been around for a week and given that no tests are done on pregnant women, the effects have yet to be studied.

Grow said the South Health District is looking forward to the Moderna vaccine, which has a 28-day waiting period in between its two vaccine shots, because of its simplicity.

The efficacy is about the same as Pfizer-BioNTech’s, he said; however, it doesn’t have to be stored at sub-zero temperatures. It can be stored in simple refrigerators.

Grow said within the district’s 10-county area, most of the locations have only two to three employees. With the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requiring much more attention, it’s better to have the Moderna vaccine.

He said the district has already ordered 200 that should be here in 10 weeks.

“We’d like to have more than 200, but they’re ramping up production as fast as they could,” he said. “We hope we can order that many if not more on a weekly basis. We at the health department are going to be concentrating on vaccinating people for the next year.”