Raleigh, NC – The state has shifted its policy on vaccinating people from across state lines, saying vaccine providers no longer need to offer coronavirus vaccinations to people who don’t live, work, or spend “a lot of time” in North Carolina .
The move follows a shift in guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week – guidelines that, according to the state’s highest ever health officials, required vaccinators to include all visitors, provided they followed the tiered vaccination plan of the state.
The State Department of Health and Human Services said 2.72 percent of the first 1.1 million first doses administered in North Carolina went to nonresidents. That equates to just under 30,000 shots.
It’s not clear how many of those people have traveled to North Carolina to get the vaccine, instead of working here or staying in the state for long periods despite having home addresses elsewhere. But there is some evidence of “vaccine tourism,” where people are crossing North Carolina to have a chance.
George Allen, a former Virginia governor, traveled more than an hour from Virginia Beach, Va., To Elizabeth City last Friday to get his chance. tweeted about the trip, post photos on social media.
“Like many VA Beach neighbors, we find NC much easier to get COVID vaccination,” he wrote. ‘My family is happy, relieved. Will go to Popeye’s now. ‘
Albemarle Regional Health Services Director R. Battle Betts, whose organization oversees public health in and around Elizabeth City, said ARHS had initially had about 2,000 people from the state show up to take their photos, in part because North Carolina and Virginia have different admission requirements had. .
“This has since been addressed and should alleviate the problem in the future,” Betts said in an email. “In terms of demographics, I don’t believe it was a power issue as there was a wide variety of people on hand for service from all over VA.”
For weeks, North Carolina officials have said that they could not turn down vaccine seekers from out of state because the vaccines are paid for and provided to every state by the federal government. But the CDC’s guidelines on this have shifted last week, and state officials confirmed on Monday that North Carolina will shift with them, though it appears local health departments, hospitals and pharmacies offering shots are getting the final say.
“You are not allowed to offer a vaccine to temporary travelers who do not live, work or spend a lot of time in North Carolina,” DHHS spokeswoman Sarah Lewis Peel said in an email. “These could be individuals who are briefly in transit or traveling through North Carolina or who come to North Carolina with the primary goal of getting a COVID-19 vaccine and then returning to another state.”
It was not immediately clear whether other neighboring countries will follow. Health departments in South Carolina and Tennessee told WRAL News on Friday that they have no residency restrictions, and Tennessee placed its out-of-state shots percentage in the same neighborhood as North Carolina’s – about 3 percent.
Health departments for the other two states bordering North Carolina – Virginia and Georgia – did not immediately respond to questions, but the Georgian health commissioner has said publicly that the state is not trying to prevent the practice, although it sees border crossings as “irresponsible and selfish. “
North Carolina got word of the CDC’s shift early last week.
“A state may decide that protecting the public health of its residents requires that vaccinations be limited to residents of the state and not to temporary travelers who do not live in the state,” a contact with the CDC’s coronavirus team told DHHS. , in an email later provided to WRAL News. . “This would be allowed under the CDC’s grant terms as long as the policy is designed to promote public health goals, such as reaching priority populations and promoting equality.”
Asked about the previous policy, DHHS has provided an email chain from January. Initially, a regional liaison with the CDC said it was up to the states. But two days later, on Jan. 8, that was clarified: “As a federal vaccine purchased with federal funding, jurisdictions should not impose restrictions on administration to nonresidents, as long as those patients meet current eligibility criteria.”
Health experts say it makes sense in some cases to offer vaccinations in all counties and state lines. Even discussing the latest policy change, DHHS said that “it will benefit all North Carolina people if as many eligible people as possible receive the vaccine as soon as possible.” The department also said that people who work or receive ongoing health care in North Carolina should get vaccinated here if they want to.
Betts said he had no problem with borderland Virginians coming to North Carolina for their shots.
“You could certainly make a viable argument that border areas could potentially serve each other without borders, given that in everyday life there is quite a bit of mixed up anyway,” he said. The real problem was that people were trying to get from Richmond and north. I don’t think anyone can reasonably expect this. ‘