Raleigh, NC – On Monday, teachers and school employees in Group 3A at the North Carolina vaccine launch can register to get a vaccine in Wake County.
Each county will distribute vaccines to school and childcare workers differently, and vaccinations will begin as early as Wednesday. Starting Monday, individuals wishing to register for a vaccine in Wake County can visit wakegov.com/vaccine to complete an online application form or call the 24/7 Vaccine Helpline at 919-250-1515.
People will have to answer “yes” to one of the following questions to register:
- Are you 65 or older?
- Are you a medical worker?
- Do you work in childcare or in a pre-K school up to the 12th grade?
- Do you have to be in person at work?
Once enough vaccines are available, people on the waiting list will be contacted by email, phone or text. They can then make an appointment online or by phone to get vaccinated. Appointments for the second dose will be scheduled at the first meeting.
North Carolina has been vaccinating people 65 years of age and older and residents and long-term care staff for months.
Since the waiting list opened on January 19, Wake County has received 120,000 vaccine applications. Stacy Beard of Wake County said the number may contain duplicates from people who have submitted their names multiple times – or people who have already received a vaccine elsewhere.
“We’re updating this list to better reflect how many people are really expecting a hit from us,” Beard said. “This real number will probably be significantly lower, which makes us feel much better when we open applications for teachers today.”
Individuals in Groups 1 and 2 can still register on the Wake County website with Group 3A.
Wake County Public Health vaccinated about 2,000 people a day, by appointment alone, at the three mass vaccination sites – PNC Arena, Wake County Public Health Center and the Wake County Commons building. Vaccines are also available from Duke Health, UNC REX and WakeMed Health and Spitals, along with some local pharmacies.
On Tuesday, the county expects a delivery of 8,380 doses, and 3,900 of them will be dedicated to the drive-thru event at PNC Arena.
“We fired 3,337 shots at PNC in the three days it worked,” Beard said. “If you include today, we will have nearly 5,000 photos given on the drive-thru site with three more days planned later this week.”
In early February, Gov. Roy Cooper said all K-12 school staff and anyone working in child care will be eligible for vaccinations beginning Feb. 24. , will have to wait until March 10 to start vaccination.
Subdivision of Group 3 into the state’s list of immunization priorities is needed, the governor said, to balance the limited supply of vaccine with the large number of frontline workers in the state.
North Carolina receives only 150,000 doses of vaccine each week from the federal government, and the state has about 240,000 public schools.
Earlier, state officials said they did not intend to divide Group 3 into smaller units and give priority to some professions over others. But Cooper said placing teachers in front of group 3 was simply pragmatic.
“There was concern about all these key frontline workers in a large group in Group 3, which suddenly collapsed in the system, that this would be problematic,” he said. “Starting with a smaller number of key workers in Group 3, we are helping suppliers streamline the distribution of the vaccine.”
Secretary of State for Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen said providers could go to schools or work to administer photos or designate a specific day of the week when only educators or other first-time workers line could receive vaccinations. She said the current vaccination tracking system will soon allow employers to upload information about employees to register in advance.
Cohen warned, however, that eligibility dates for February 24 and March 10 do not necessarily mean people will start being shot then. Some counties have long waiting lists of people in group 1 or group 2 who are still waiting for their shots – Wake County’s list has over 80,000 people, for example – so teachers and other front-line workers will have to wait their turn, she said.
Learn how to get a vaccine in your area.
The head of the WRAL Chapter Office, Laura Leslie, and the WRAL reporter, Adam Owens, contributed to this report.