New Hanover anticipates receiving 3,900 first-dose COVID-19 vaccines in the coming week from the state, according to a recent press release, though there is no set delivery date.
The county will transfer some of the shipment to local healthcare partners that are approved vaccinators through the state, and also open appointments for healthcare workers and adults 65 years and older to receive their first dose of the vaccine. This plan aligns with North Carolina s updated Phase 1b Group 2 guidance.
According to an update from New Hanover County, all appointments for this week’s COVID-19 vaccinations through Public Health were already full as of Tuesday morning, based on the supply of vaccine the county currently has on hand.
Wilmington-area residents are fired up over COVID-19 vaccination protocols.
Dr. David Priest, Novant Health’s senior vice president and chief safety, quality and epidemiology officer, said, “The reality is: We’re not vaccinating in this country fast enough.”
“There are people dying,” said Alice Brown, a Calabash resident who is part of the 75-and-older COVID-19 vaccine group. “I was on hold for almost an hour with the health department trying to get an appointment.”
Robert Doleman, an 84-year-old New Hanover resident and Vietnam veteran, said he was able to qualify at the local VA clinic to get his vaccine quicker after having no luck getting a vaccine appointment at the health department and Wilmington Health.
Wilmington StarNews
The StarNews will be updating this file with up-to-date and need-to-know COVID-19 vaccine information as it becomes available.
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COVID-19 vaccine updates for New Hanover County
Updated March 19, 2021
All appointments are booked through March 23.
Starting March 17, Group 4 will also be eligible for the vaccine, which is anyone ages 16 to 64 years old with one or more high-risk medical conditions, people living in close group settings and essential workers.
Students who didn’t get tested for Covid-19 prior to returning to UNCW were asked to report to the Burney Center, where a long line had formed Tuesday of students seeking rapid tests. (Port City Daily/Preston Lennon)
WILMINGTON Hundreds of students waited outside the UNCW Burney Center Tuesday, wrapped in a line that spanned multiple blocks. They were all on standby for a Covid-19 rapid test that would allow them to move into residence halls and attend on-campus classes.
In a parking lot on the edge of campus, other students with negative Covid-19 test results already in tow were ferried through a checkpoint. After showing printed test results to staff, the students were given a green wristband to wear until Jan. 22 that verifies they tested negative for the virus.
New Hanover County Public Health announced Tuesday that it has received additional supply of the COVID-19 vaccine from the state, and 1,410 new vaccine appointments now are available to healthcare workers and individuals who are 65 and older.