Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon, who called on the state to consider a residency requirement for people eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, said on Friday that he hopes other mayors and elected officials start “speaking up” with urgency over the rollout of the vaccine.
Kennon told AL.com he hopes city and county leaders begin to speak up about the issue so a better statewide plan can be put into place over the distribution of the vaccine. Alabama, as of Friday afternoon, was no longer last in the U.S. in distributing the vaccine.
“We should be busting our butts to figure out how we can distribute hundreds of thousands of doses,” said Kennon. “We have physician assistants, doc in the boxes everywhere. It should be a mass effort to come up with the ability to distribute mass doses of the vaccine.”
Alabama officials have said they simply do not have enough supply to vaccinate everyone who is eligible for the shots.
As of Friday at 5 a.m., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed Alabama third to last in the country in terms of vaccination rate, ahead of only Nevada and Missouri - though Alabama and Missouri are virtually tied.
The state is last in total doses administered per capita, according to the CDC, with just 4,069 doses given per 100,000 residents. Alabama fell behind in that measure because of its low number of second doses given - both Missouri and Nevada have given significantly more second doses than Alabama.
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In Baldwin County, a vaccination clinic has been set up for Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Daphne Civic Center, but it has been overrun with people showing up to get an in-person reservation to set up a time so they can return for a shot. The reservations begin at 6:30 a.m., and the timing has Kennon upset.
“To have people 75 years old and dressing in mask to stand in line to get a time slot to get vaccinated is absurd,” Kennon said. People showing up to the Daphne Civic Center are not required to leave their vehicles while waiting for a reservation.
Orange Beach, though, is about an hour drive to Daphne. Kennon said that the drive, in the dark, can be unsettling for people over 75 years old.
“How many people over the age of 75 are on the roads and drive in the dark heading to Daphne?” Kennon said.
He said that either the county or state’s health department – which is coordinating the vaccine clinics – should be providing daily updates on Facebook. In Mobile, for instance, the county health department provides a daily afternoon update, five days a week.
State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, in extending the latest Safer at Home order to March 5, held a news conference in Montgomery. But there is no indication that more news conferences are forthcoming.
“It just has to be five minutes,” he said. “I don’t feel like there is anyone out front fighting and looking out for us.”
Kennon’s call for more cities to be active in pushing for local plans to distribute the vaccine, once it becomes more widely available, and mentioned that effort occurring within the League of Municipalities. Greg Cochran, executive director with the League, could not be reached for comment.
Sonny Brasfield, executive director with the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama, said his agency has not been engaged nor has it been asked to be engaged in the distribution process. He said the ACCA is willing to assist “in any way” that can be helpful and appropriate, “but at this point, I am not closely enough engaged to make an evaluation of the efforts ongoing in our state.”
“We know that each state is tackling the distribution challenge in a slightly different and unique way,” said Brasfield. “We fully recognize that the logistics are very complicated.”
He added, “Perhaps there could be a role for county government going forward.”
Kennon, meanwhile, continues to call on the state to discontinue providing COVID-19 vaccines to out-of-state visitors – namely, the so-called snowbirds who live in Northern states and visit Orange Beach and Gulf Shores during the winter months.
The state of Florida, following action by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this week, required everyone who is eligible to get a COVID-19 shot, provide proof that they are a permanent or semi-permanent resident of Florida.
When asked whether Alabama would do something similar, an Ivey spokeswoman deferred comments to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
On Thursday, Dr. Karen Landers, the state’s assistance health officer, said the agency is trying to ensure that Alabamians are a priority when receiving limited supplies of the vaccine.
Landers said, “ADPH cannot promise that people from other states may not get a vaccine appointment if they are in an eligible population, but our goal is to reach Alabamians first.”
Kennon said that if a snowbird is visiting coastal Alabama for “two to three weeks,” receives a vaccine and then returns to their Midwestern home, “it does nothing for our seniors.”
He said his comments have probably angered some of the hundreds of snowbirds who visit and spend money in Orange Beach. But, Kennon added, “I don’t make a decision based by revenue and money. I appreciate the money. We need it in the offseason. But I’m more concerned about the health and welfare of my folks.”
In neighboring Gulf Shores, the reaction to the current vaccine distribution was more subdued. Grant Brown, the city spokesman, said they are in “full support” of Ivey and Harris and are looking to them for guidance “and will follow their lead in all aspects of the vaccination process.”
“We stand ready to assist ADPH if and when the opportunity arises,” Brown said.
Kennon, a physical therapist, said he is willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine once enough are available.
“Yes, I would take it,” he said. “I have no fear of it. If and when we have enough (vaccine), that makes a difference to get it. But those with the highest risks (of the coronavirus) should be vaccinated first.”
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