Calls made to those on the Henderson County Department of Public Health’s vaccine waitlist have been flagged as spam, the health department said Tuesday.
Henderson County News: County will catch up on seniors before moving to essential workers hendersonvillelightning.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hendersonvillelightning.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Local communities with high senior populations worry about vaccine plan
As North Carolina plans to soon begin the next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations, some communities are worried about a shortage in supply and the ability to administer enough doses to their larger-than-average senior populations.
Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that vaccines will be open to Group 3, beginning with anyone working in child care or in pre-k-12 schools, on Feb. 24.
Henderson County Health Director Steve Smith voiced concerns Tuesday at a Board of Health meeting that the state would open vaccinations up to Group 3 too soon. The governor made his announcement the following day.
Overwhelmed by the demand for shots from the pool of more than 30,000 residents, the county Public Health Department instituted a waiting list people could access on line. In Henderson County and statewide, the supply of vaccines has allowed providers to inoculate a small fraction of the total number of eligible seniors. Gov. Roy Cooper announced yesterday (Feb. 10) that he would open Group 3 starting with teachers and childcare workers on Feb. 24 and expand to others in Group 3 on March 10, the health department said. In the press conference, it was implied that school staff/childcare workers would be vaccinated starting on Feb. 24 (rather than waitlisted). It is unclear at this point whether or not there will be a separate allocation (of doses) to accomplish this. Henderson County Department of Public Health and key partners are working to understand what the impacts may be to current vaccine operations.