SOUTHEASTERN NC — Over the last seven days across North Carolina, more than 60,000 Covid-19 cases have been reported with more than 500 deaths. Just on Saturday, Jan. 16, the state marked 7,986 cases and 83 deaths. Though Gov. Roy Cooper — in line with the federal government and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations — has opened up vaccinations this week to include all people 65 and older, as well as frontline healthcare workers and long-term care facility workers, supply is still trickling in slowly as case numbers rise week by week. According to the Jan. 13 update on the NC Department of Health and Human Services dashboard, 238,344 North Carolinians have received at least one dose, with 44,271 receiving the series of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine (the vaccines must be given in a series of two shots three or four weeks apart). More people are eagerly awaiting vaccination, but health departments and vaccination partners statewide quickly are filling appointments, some even booking months in advance, without enough supplies on hand — or enough manpower to distribute them.