Officials plan for Group 3 as Walgreens starts COVID-19 vaccinations
Local health departments are working to plan the next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations after Gov. Roy Cooper announced teachers and other school staff will be prioritized before the rest of frontline workers.
Cooper announced Feb. 10 that state residents in Group 3 can start getting the vaccine Feb. 24, starting with anyone working in child care or in PreK-12 schools, followed by all other frontline workers March 10.
Teachers cheered the move, but local health departments are still figuring out how to make that prioritization happen, and wondering if a separate dose allocation will be made to accommodate it, with almost 50,000 people on Buncombe s waitlist, and nearly 16,000 on Henderson County s list.
Hendersonville Times-News
Recent diversion efforts by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services have caused shortages for some vaccine providers across the state.
Pardee UNC Health Care announced Wednesday that the vaccine allocation for the upcoming week that was originally anticipated will not be received. As a result, first dose vaccine appointments scheduled for the week of Feb. 1 will be rescheduled, according to a news release from Pardee. All second dose appointments will be kept.
NCDHHS has recently shifted a large portion of doses toward large-scale vaccination events, including events at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Bank of America Stadium.
Health department launches vaccine waitlist for adults 65 and older, healthcare workers
Hendersonville Times-News
The Henderson County Department of Public Health has launched a COVID-19 vaccine waitlist for adults 65 and older and all health care workers.
Individuals can sign up for the waitlist at www.hendersoncountync.gov/health. This waitlist will be the new method used to make appointments for the health department’s vaccination clinics, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
The health department will no longer require that individuals contact the call center directly to make an appointment.
Henderson County is committed to providing vaccinations as quickly as possible based on supply while following the priority groups set by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the health department.
Very somber occasion as Henderson County hits 100 COVID deaths
One hundred.
That is how many people have now died from COVID-19 in Henderson County, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
“It is a very somber occasion to reach the mark of 100 COVID-19 deaths in our community. It echoes the toll and human suffering we have experienced as a nation over the past year with over 400,000 deaths now,” Henderson County Health Director Steve Smith said Monday.
“Everyone has a different perspective about the pandemic and its impact in Henderson County. The families and loved ones of those lost wouldn’t debate with you. They have experienced those losses in a direct and personal way . a friend, a family member, a neighbor,” he continued.