Cary, NC – With 13% of adults in North Carolina fully vaccinated against coronavirus, there is a new group of health professionals ready to join the vaccination effort: dentists.
To vaccinate more people, dentists, like Dr. Michael Riccobene, are some of those who can now help.
“I was hoping to give a vaccine against COVID? Absolutely not. But am I ready for the challenge? Absolutely,” he said.
Bobby White, with the North Carolina State Board of Dental Medicine, said dentists must complete an online course provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before administering vaccines.
“The way this will be most beneficial for dentists is that they can become vaccinators through the public health department’s vaccination sites,” White explained.
Dentists also have the option of being a provider to get vaccinated in their office, but it must be approved by the CDC. This is what Riccobene is doing in five of its locations.
“If we go through costs and training, we want to make sure we can reach so many people,” Riccobene said.
Riccobene will need to ensure that his staff are trained on how to store and handle the vaccine and on how to deal with allergic reactions. You will also need to cover all costs, which are about $ 1,000 per location.
Riccobene said it’s ready, but there’s a wait and it’s a long process.
“I spoke to the director of the dental council. He said it could be a couple of weeks before we had access to the vaccine,” he said.
White said many dental offices were unlikely to administer vaccines because of the wait, costs, and logistical challenges.
“There are a lot of administrative hurdles that need to be cleaned up and they’re off the dental board. It’s between the dentist and the CDC,” White said.
Dentists can administer vaccines until May 20, according to the executive order of Governor Roy Cooper, but that deadline can be extended at any time.