Vaccinations continue across New Hanover County, including at the MLK Center downtown on 10th Street. (Port City Daily/Courtesy of New Hanover County)
SOUTHEASTERN NC For the first time in months, North Carolina is experiencing a downtick in cases as more than 1 million vaccines roll out in the state’s battle against Covid-19. The combination of less cases and more vaccines administered is the way to overcome this year-long worldwide pandemic, according to scientists and health professionals.
On the County Alert System, 66 North Carolina counties are in the red zone, indicating critical viral spread, while 33 are in the orange, showing substantial spread; six remain in the yellow with significant spread. New Hanover has been downgraded to orange, while Brunswick and Pender remain red.
Residents wait at the New Hanover County Senior Resource Center for a Covid-19 vaccine. Although the state indicates around 23,000 first doses have been administered in the county, a spokesperson said that number is higher in reality. (Port City Daily/Courtesy of New Hanover County)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY â Delays in logging Covid-19 vaccinations have resulted in the actual total of county vaccinations being higher than the number currently reflected on the
According to vaccine allocation totals obtained by Port City Daily, 33,925 combined first doses had been shipped to vaccine providers in New Hanover County â including the hospital and local health department, as well as a few hundred doses for Med North â prior to this week. At the same time, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services dashboard indicated Monday only 22,399 first doses had been administered.
Honor system used for vaccine By Michael Praats | February 2, 2021 at 6:24 AM EST - Updated February 2 at 7:06 AM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - In an effort to distribute the vaccine to the most vulnerable guidelines have been put in place restricting who is eligible to receive their shots, but, those administering the vaccines for New Hanover County arenât asking for any sort of proof for those who do get vaccinated.
The state Department of Health and Human Services has set the guidelines for those wanting to get vaccinated and issued a five-tier list for residents since supplies are low.
âA free COVID-19 vaccine will be available to all who want it, but supplies will be limited at first. We want to make sure people are vaccinated as quickly and fairly as possible, starting with people who are more likely to get COVID-19 and those more likely to get dangerously sick from it,â according to the NC DHHS.
New Hanover anticipates receiving 3,900 first-dose COVID-19 vaccines in the coming week from the state, according to a recent press release, though there is no set delivery date.
The county will transfer some of the shipment to local healthcare partners that are approved vaccinators through the state, and also open appointments for healthcare workers and adults 65 years and older to receive their first dose of the vaccine. This plan aligns with North Carolina s updated Phase 1b Group 2 guidance.
According to an update from New Hanover County, all appointments for this week’s COVID-19 vaccinations through Public Health were already full as of Tuesday morning, based on the supply of vaccine the county currently has on hand.
Wilmington-area residents are fired up over COVID-19 vaccination protocols.
Dr. David Priest, Novant Health’s senior vice president and chief safety, quality and epidemiology officer, said, “The reality is: We’re not vaccinating in this country fast enough.”
“There are people dying,” said Alice Brown, a Calabash resident who is part of the 75-and-older COVID-19 vaccine group. “I was on hold for almost an hour with the health department trying to get an appointment.”
Robert Doleman, an 84-year-old New Hanover resident and Vietnam veteran, said he was able to qualify at the local VA clinic to get his vaccine quicker after having no luck getting a vaccine appointment at the health department and Wilmington Health.