Last week, the Wayne County Health Department moved into Group 3 delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine and administered over 2,800 shots to the public. As of today, a total of 16,922 individuals have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Wayne County, with 7,532 second doses given.
With this move to Group 3, the Health Department worked closely with Wayne County Public School staff, as well as child care providers, to have teachers and child care workers vaccinated with a special allotment of doses provided to our County from The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. A special request was submitted and approved by NCDHHS to receive additional doses, in addition to our weekly baseline allotment, to get a jump start on vaccination of Group 3 recipients.
“This was truly a team effort,” said Dr. Brenda Weis, Wayne County Health Director. “Our Health Department staff, EMS staff, and volunteers distributed a record number of shots for our site last week. We knew the demand was high for Group 3 to receive a shot but wanted to ensure that nobody was skipped in the process. We were fortunate to be approved for an extra allotment of doses so we could continue vaccinating Groups 1 and 2 but also start on Group 3.
If you are in an eligible group, we have now made it easier to schedule an appointment for the first dose of your vaccine. Visit www.waynegov.com/vaccine and pick an available time to schedule your appointment. If you do not see any open appointments, please check back regularly as we open additional appointments based on the doses we receive. We are currently distributing only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and have not received notice of receiving any Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Looking forward, NCDHHS has announced that Group 4 will be eligible to receive a vaccine on March 24, 2021. If you are interested in finding out what group you are in, visit findmygroup.nc.gov.