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On a recent Saturday morning, Peggy Hoon got behind the wheel of her 2011 Toyota RAV4 and made the 300-mile round trip to Charlotte from her Raleigh home.
On a recent Saturday morning, Peggy Hoon got behind the wheel of her 2011 Toyota RAV4 and made the 300-mile round trip to Charlotte from her Raleigh home.
Yet most other states managed to roll out the vaccine more quickly than North Carolina, which has so far administered only about one-third of its allotment. That speed matters, as federal officials have said future distributions may be based on how quickly states are putting shots into arms.
But exactly why North Carolina has fallen behind is complicated.
A survey of dozens of county health departments across the state by the N.C. Watchdog Reporting Network shows a range of problems that have hampered their ability to vaccinate people in the first phase of the rollout namely front-line health workers and the elderly. Problems include:
COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Now Includes Those 65 And Older Published: 15 January 2021
Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen announced Thursday that the agency is expanding its vaccination guidelines to include those 65 and older in the current phase.
The expansion follows new federal priorities, and vaccine providers that are ready to, can expand to now vaccinate all health care workers, and anyone who is 65 years and older. Cohen said North Carolina is receiving about 120,000 doses of the vaccine every week. Cohen said that counties are in various stages of the vaccine rollout, as they deal with new cases and vaccinations. That along with limited supply means that many folks will have to wait before a vaccine is available for them. Cohen reiterated that a person will not be immune from COVID-19 until one to two weeks after they have received their second dose, so folks should continue to follow the guidelines.