Sanford, NC – Demand for the coronavirus vaccine overwhelmed Lee County’s phone lines Monday morning after the county began accepting records of people with health conditions that put them at higher risk for the virus.
Lee County was the first county in the area to begin allowing people in Group 4 of the state’s vaccine priority list to register for vaccines.
Around 10 a.m., county IT staff had to close the vaccine call center and set up a new number. Less than three hours later, county officials completely suspended registrations due to limited supply of vaccines.
“The Department of Health has the supply of vaccines available to complete all currently scheduled vaccine clinics. New registrations will not be accepted until additional vaccines have been secured,” officials said in a press release.
County spokesman Jamie Brown said opening the registry to people in group 4 was just a matter of maintaining a healthy waiting list for vaccines.
“Like many other local health departments across the state, we are facing last minute cancellations and do not show up at our vaccine clinics as people make multiple appointments in hopes of receiving the vaccine faster, ”county spokesman Jamie Brown said in an email. and WRAL News. “While we understand the desire to be vaccinated as quickly as possible, this has created a bit of a logistical problem for the health department as we plan for our clinics.”
Dr. John Anderson, Duke’s primary care physician, said making multiple appointments is the best option for people looking for a faster vaccination.
“It always helps to be proactive in that,” Anderson said, and recommended that people consult with primary care physicians, county health departments and providers like Duke University’s Health System.
“Many of the smaller practices may not be able to administer the vaccine, but at least they can direct patients to where to go,” he said.
To date, North Carolina providers have administered more than 2.8 million vaccines, with 10.3 percent of state residents completely vaccinated.
Duke Primary Care plans to open its first automatic vaccination clinic on 5601 Arringdon Park Drive in Morrisville on Tuesday for people on Duke Health’s waiting list.
“We wish we could give about 500 a day to get started,” Anderson said. “As we manage to increase that and improve it, it’s possible that number can increase.”
The clinic will provide the unique Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which Anderson said works best in a drive-thru format because it requires less post-vaccine patient monitoring than Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Another option: a massive vaccination site run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency opens Wednesday in front of a Greensboro mall, with plans to manage up to 21,000 shots a week over the next eight weeks.
Michael Palmer, a Durham resident who is already vaccinated, said word of mouth is a good way to find the shot faster.
“Most of us, in our network of relationships, particularly Baby Boomers like me, have friends who have been shot. So within that network of information there are a lot of resources,” Palmer said.
Thomas Murray, who is not yet vaccinated, agreed.
“I think with word of mouth he travels, it seems to me that once you have friends who already know it, plus everyone helps each other, I don’t think it’s too much of a problem,” Murray said. dit.
Duke Health will likely not begin vaccinating anyone in Group 4 until March 24, which is the date eligibility officials set for state officials last week, Anderson said.
Brown said Lee County will not begin vaccinating anyone in that group until “later this month.” A county Facebook post said it could be as early as March 17, depending on vaccine availability.
Other county health departments and providers in the area said they have no plans to vaccinate Group 4 members before March 24.
“We are following state guidelines and will begin registering people in Group 4 on March 24,” Orange County spokesman Tod McGee said in an email. “That doesn’t mean we have vaccines for them. People in groups 2 and 3 will still be ahead of them.”
“We are currently still working through our waiting list to vaccinate people in groups 1 to 3 who are on our waiting list. In the coming weeks, we plan to evaluate our waiting list and expand to other groups when possible, ”Harnett County spokeswoman Ashley said. Deans Bauer said in an email.
According to the state, people should not be vaccinated in the same county where they live.