The first COVID-19 vaccine shipment in Onslow County has arrived and will be administered on a voluntary basis to front-line healthcare workers most at risk of exposure to COVID-19 on Friday.
Onslow Memorial Hospital announced that it received 975 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Thursday morning and the hospital will begin administering the vaccine to employees on Friday.
At this time, the vaccine is voluntary for all employees, the hospital stated.
The initial supply of the vaccine is limited and will be administered in phases, with those most at risk of exposure receiving the vaccinations first.
According to information from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services the initial supply of the vaccine is going to hospitals to vaccinate health care workers at high risk of exposure to COVID-19, including doctors, nurses and those cleaning areas used by COVID-19 patients.
With the number of COVID-19 cases rising, Onslow County Schools is holding off on a full return to in-person instruction for its elementary schools following the Christmas break.
The school district announced Thursday evening that the district will continue using Wednesdays as remote learning days for students in kindergarten through fifth grades through the end of March 2021. Students in grades K-5 were scheduled to begin in-person instruction five days a week on Jan. 5.
Appropriate adjustments to the K-5 school calendar are included as part of a COVID-19 update to be presented at the Jan. 5 meeting of the Board of Education.
Onslow Memorial Hospital is expected to get the first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine in Onslow County this week but few other details have been released about who will get the first vaccinations.
Citing security concerns, OMH is not releasing the specific date of receipt of the vaccine but Erin Tallman, senior vice president, patient advocacy and compliance officer, said they anticipate putting out a news release with further information later this week.
Tallman said OMH is expecting about 975 doses of the vaccine.
Onslow County Manager Sharon Russell indicated in a Monday night COVID-19 update that the first vaccinations will include healthcare workers on the front line of treating COVID-19 patients.
Local officials are warning residents to be aware of several COVID-19 vaccination scams that are making their way around the country as states ramp up the beginning of Phase 1 of administering the doses.
Law enforcement have reported scams in North Carolina of solicitors calling vulnerable individuals in order to offer the chance to have them put their name on a list that would hold their spot in line for when the vaccine is available.
In doing so, these random callers will ask for social security numbers, bank accounts, or to send money in order to hold the spot in line. Onslow County Sheriff s Office s Col. Chris Thomas said there is no such thing as a list for people to sign up for the vaccine.
A second cluster of COVID-19 cases in one of Onslow County’s public schools has been announced by the school district.
A cluster of six cases was confirmed at Dixon High School, Onslow County Schools announced Tuesday morning but did not indicate whether the cases involved staff or students.
According to the news release, the Onslow County Health Department notified OCS and DHS administrators late Friday that a cluster had been identified. The health department also reported the information to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
NCDHHS defines a cluster as a minimum of 5 cases with symptom onset or initial positive test results within a 14-day period and a probable common linkage between cases.