Raleigh, North Carolina – On Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper will offer an information session on the coronavirus as the state launches a new toll-free hotline for information on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said the hotline will provide details on how, when and where you can get vaccinated, as well as answer questions about the vaccine.
“I know I have a lot of things, ‘Hey, I have this and that problem, I can get the vaccine,'” Cohen said. So we can answer questions about safety and effectiveness, but also to help lead people, and who to call to find out where to go. “
The process to deploy the vaccine statewide has been slow and Cohen said he hopes the hotline will help clear up any confusion.
To date, about 123,600 people have been vaccinated statewide, including 461 who have received both doses, according to DHHS.
Most of the state continues to work through phase 1A of the national vaccination plan, focusing on health care workers treating COVID-19 patients and residents and long-term care center staff.
County-by-county vaccination plans
The State Department of Health and Human Services has created a phased system to vaccinate North Carolina residents against coronavirus:
Phase 1A: Healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients and staff and residents of long-term care facilities
Phase 1B: Group 1 includes people aged 75 and over. Group 2 includes other health workers and “essential” workers, such as lifeguards, teachers, postal workers, manufacturing workers, and supermarket employees, who are over 50 years of age. Group 3 includes other health workers and essential workers aged 49 or under.
Phase 2: Group 1 includes people aged 65 to 74. Group 2 includes people aged 16 to 64 with medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, or heart disease, who have a higher risk of complications from COVID-19. Group 3 includes prison inmates and other people in group living settings. Group 4 includes essential workers who have not yet been vaccinated.
Step 3: University students and high school students 16 years of age or older.
Step 4: Everyone
Some counties have settled in the first part of Phase 1B and offer vaccines to people 75 years of age or older. Cohen said any county with sufficient doses will begin firing people from that group on Friday.
Franklin County begins that Thursday and has a clinic run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. outside the county health department. More than 200 people had signed up for this Tuesday’s event.
“I go there. It’s better to die trying to live than to live and end up dying,” said Louisa Dunston, 79.
Health director Scott LaVigne noted that Franklin County has about 8,000 residents age 75 and older.
“The number of people we have in the age category,” LaVigne said, “we don’t have enough doses to vaccinate those people.”
This means that more clinics will be scheduled in the coming weeks. Individuals must first register by emailing [email protected] or calling 919-496-8113 to confirm their eligibility for a photograph.
Jennie Rowland, 81, said she cares about safety and does not rely on the supply chain to make sure vaccines are kept frozen or refrigerated before injections.
“Everything is in the air,” Rowland said, adding that he plans to stay home to be safe. “I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t go out for Thanksgiving. I didn’t go out for Christmas.”
Cohen said people 75 and older should call the county health department or a local hospital to find out about appointments to get a shot, adding that it may take a while to get one.
“I hope everyone can have a little patience with us,” he said. “Just know that we still have a limited supply.”
Since last week, about 462,000 doses of the vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna had been shipped to North Carolina. But state vaccination data show that only a quarter of those doses have been used so far.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, North Carolina has had one of the slowest vaccines to date, with only 1,162 shots per 100,000 residents. Only 11 states have lower rates.
“Everyone shares that sense of urgency,” Cohen said of the effort.
He said different communities have different challenges, and some are doing well, while others may need more support.
“Some places are very advanced; other places are still gathering their operations,” he said. “I think we’ll work on that over the next few weeks.”
DHHS announced Monday that future vaccine allocations will be based on local vaccination efforts, meaning giving more vaccines will lead to larger vaccine deliveries.
“We’re now ready to release him and throw him out,” LaVigne said of the vaccine. “We won’t get more until we throw more.”