Monday, North Carolina will enter 1B, the next phase of the COVID-19 vaccination plan, meaning seniors should soon have access to vaccines.
The first Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, delivered in the United States in mid-December, were given priority for health professionals and those living or working in long-term care facilities.
Now other vital frontline workers and people 75 and older will also be able to get the vaccine.
In a state briefing last week, Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, expects to share more information shortly about the updated vaccine introduction plan that CVS and Walgreens employees could use to help administer shots to seniors.
Davidson County, which lies west of the Triangle, has already announced senior registrations and will begin distribution to that group Monday.
It’s been 21 days since the first COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, was administered in the Triangle. Anyone who received the Pfizer vaccine on December 14 can now receive their second dose.
The administration of the two doses should be separated for at least three weeks. The Pfizer vaccine appears to be about 52% effective after the first dose and 95% effective after the second dose. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses.
Stages 2, 3 and 4 are the following
Phase 2, the next phase, will enable adults at high risk of exposure and at risk of serious illness to receive vaccinations, including anyone aged 65-74, regardless of their medical condition or living situation.
In Phase 2, people under 65 can be vaccinated if they have a medical condition that increases the risk of serious COVID-19 disease, along with the remaining essential employees and those living or working in healthcare facilities.
In phase 3, college, university and high school students aged 16 or older can get vaccinated. When the state enters Phase 4, anyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine can get one.
Cohen said it will be months before COVID-19 vaccines are widely available to the public.
“Until most people are vaccinated, everyone should continue to wear a mask, wait six feet apart and wash their hands,” she said.
Coronavirus is on the rise in North Carolina
North Carolina has seen another spike in COVID-19 cases, with the first two days of 2021 with 19,000 new cases in our state and most counties in the red, a critical area of distribution of the community. Doctors told WRAL it will take two weeks after Christmas to see the impact of the holiday on COVID-19 numbers.
With many people returning to work Monday, health officials advise anyone who has traveled on vacation or gathered in a large group to get tested.
Wake County has set up two new testing sites to help with testing demand, and some patients are getting results back within hours. No appointments are necessary.
Test locations open Monday include:
Marsh Creek Park, 3050 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh
11 am-4pm
Roberts Park, 1300 E. Martin St.
11 am-4pm
Method Community Park, 514 Method Road, Raleigh
11 am-4pm
On Monday, North Carolina could surpass 7,000 COVID-19 deaths. The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is 3,576, the highest number since the start of the pandemic.