Raleigh, North Carolina – On Monday, North Carolina Vaccine Deployment Group 3A school teachers and employees can sign up for a vaccine in Wake County.
Each county will distribute the vaccines to school and daycare workers differently, and vaccinations are expected to begin on Wednesday. Starting Monday, individuals wishing to register for a vaccine in Wake County can visit wakegov.com/vaccine to fill out an online application form or call the Vaccine Hotline 24/7 at 919 -250-1515.
People will need to answer “yes” to one of the following questions to register:
- Are you 65 or older?
- Are you a health worker?
- Do you work in Childcare or in a pre-school school up to 12th grade?
- Do you have to be in person at your workplace?
Once enough vaccines are available, people on the waiting list will be contacted by email, phone, or text message. They can then make an appointment online or by phone to get the vaccine. Second dose appointments will be scheduled at the first appointment.
North Carolina has been vaccinating people over the age of 65 and residents and long-term care staff for months.
Since the waiting list opened on Jan. 19, Wake County has received 120,000 vaccine applications. Stacy Beard, of Wake County, said that number may contain duplicates of people who sent her name several times or of people who have already received a vaccine elsewhere.
“We’re updating this list to better reflect how many people are really‘ waiting ’to get a shot at us,” Beard said. “This actual number is likely to be significantly lower, which makes us feel much better when it comes to opening applications for teachers.”
People in Groups 1 and 2 can continue to register on the Wake County website along with Group 3A.
Wake County Public Health has vaccinated approximately 2,000 people a day by appointment at its three mass vaccination sites alone: PNC Arena, the Wake County Public Health Center, and the Wake County Commons Building. Vaccines are also available at Duke Health, UNC REX and WakeMed Health and Hospitals, along with some local pharmacies.
On Tuesday, the county expects a shipment of 8,380 doses, and 3,900 of these will be dedicated to the drive-thru event at the PNC Arena.
“We have given 3,337 shots to PNC in the three days it has been operational,” Beard said. “If you include today, we will be close to 5,000 shots given at the driving location, with three more days scheduled for this week.”
In early February, Gov. Roy Cooper said all K-12 school staff and anyone working in child care will be eligible for vaccinations beginning Feb. 24. , will have to wait until March 10 to start getting vaccinated.
Group 3 needs to be subdivided into the state’s list of vaccination priorities, the governor said, to balance the limited supply of vaccines with the state’s large number of front-line workers.
North Carolina receives only 150,000 doses of vaccine each week from the federal government, and the state has about 240,000 public school staff.
Earlier, state officials said they had no plans to split Group 3 into smaller units and prioritize some professions over others. But Cooper said putting teachers at the head of Group 3 was simply pragmatic.
“There has been concern for all these front-line essential workers in a large group, from Group 3, suddenly into the system, that this would be problematic,” he said. “Starting with a smaller number of Group 3 front-line essential workers helps suppliers streamline vaccine distribution.”
Secretary of State for Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen said providers could go to schools or the workplace to administer traits or could designate a specific day of the week on which only educators or other front-line workers could receive vaccines. The state’s immunization tracking system will soon allow employers to post employee information to pre-register them, he said.
Cohen warned, however, that the February 24 and March 10 eligibility dates do not necessarily mean people will start receiving shots then. Some counties have long waiting lists for people in Group 1 or Group 2 who are still waiting for their shots (the Wake County list has more than 80,000 people, for example), so teachers and other top workers line will have to wait their turn, he said.
Find out how to get a vaccine in your area.
Laura Leslie, head of the WRAL Capitol office, and WRAL reporter / presenter Adam Owens contributed to this report.