Raleigh, NC – Gov. Roy Cooper mobilized the North Carolina National Guard on Tuesday to accelerate vaccine rollout.
“Making sure that COVID-19 vaccines are delivered quickly is currently the top priority,” Cooper tweeted. “We will use whatever resources and personnel are needed. I have mobilized the NC National Guard to provide support to local health care providers as we continue to increase the pace of vaccinations.”
According to figures from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, North Carolina has one of the lower rates of vaccine administration in the country.
The slow rollout of vaccines isn’t just a North Carolina phenomenon, and a number of health experts have criticized vaccination across the country.
“The US has really ruined the rollout of vaccines,” Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist who recently left Harvard University for the Federation of American Scientists, said on Twitter Monday. “Only 4 million injections administered in a month, despite the promise of 20 million by the end of 2020. The US should give 7-10 million vaccines per week.”
But the process has been particularly slow in North Carolina, based on data released by the CDC. As of Tuesday, the CDC said North Carolina delivered 498,450 doses and administered 121,881. The state’s vaccination rate per 100,000 people made North Carolina the 12th slowest state in the country.
“Although a vaccine was made earlier than expected, the state had months to prepare a distribution plan. There is no excuse that vaccines have been shelved for so long,” said Lauren Horsch, a spokeswoman for Senate President. Pro Tem Phil Berger. . It is good that the Governor is aware of this and intends to mobilize the National Guard. We’ll see if there’s a plan behind that announcement. ‘
Cooper’s move comes two days after State Representative Billy Richardson, D-Cumberland, asked Cooper to enlist the help of the National Guard.
“The number of North Carolina people who contract Covid daily is staggering, and the slow distribution of the vaccines is alarming,” Richardson wrote in his letter. “Now is the time to act quickly and with a renewed commitment to two-pronged results.”
The letter states that 26 states planned to mobilize their Guard units to assist in the distribution of vaccines, a figure reported in mid-December by the Department of Defense’s National Guard Office.
The figure may now be lower. A spokeswoman for the agency told WRAL News on Tuesday that seven states are using National Guard units that provide some form of support, but added that this may not be a full count.
Richardson said it is “unwise” to let hospitals and other healthcare providers who are already grappling with the proliferation of coronavirus patients also handle vaccination logistics.
“What we should be doing is using the various resources of the state and the nation to help the healthcare system do what they do best,” he said.
“There are some who can actually help with vaccinations; some will help with logistics and other things,” said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the State Department of Health and Human Services, of the National Guard’s assistance.
Richardson also called on General Assembly leaders to come back for vaccination issues, or at least be ready for action on the first day of a legislative session already scheduled to begin next week.
Exactly what legislation might be needed was not made clear, but Richardson said the state must “empower and fund our National Guard to overcome the roadblocks that currently hinder the efficient and prompt delivery of vaccines to our citizens.”
“The day we get sworn in puts us to work,” Richardson told WRAL News. “When we focus on a specific problem, magic happens.”
The legislator should focus on solutions rather than rollout issues, he said. But a legislative oversight committee is already planning to delve into vaccine distribution at a meeting next week.
“This is unprecedented, and we are going to make mistakes,” said Richardson.