The new COVID-19 vaccines have been touted as a "light at the end of the tunnel," and are promising a way out of this pandemic as a new year dawns and as cases and hospitalizations skyrocket,but many North Carolinians are still trying to figure out just how and when they may be able to get their shot.
Vaccinations are rolling out across the state according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services vaccination plan, prioritizing frontline health care workers first, at least 109,799 of whom have already received the first dose according to the state dashboard Jan. 6.
Buncombe County announced Jan. 5 that it will start vaccinating the next group of people, those 75 and older, on Jan. 11, with plans for a new vaccination center at A-B Tech's event center that can handle up to 2,000 vaccinations a week, depending on how many vaccines come in from the state.
The state updated its plan Dec. 30to follow the latest federal recommendations, according to an announcement, simplifying the plan and continuing its focus on frontline health care workers, people at the highest risk of being hospitalized or dying from the virus and those at highest risk of exposure.
With limited vaccine supplies, the state's plan is broken down into five phases and those phases into separate groups, determining the order the vaccine will be distributed, with the first phase currently underway.
Officials are asking people to be patient, as the need for vaccine still heavily outweighs supplies being shipped to the county every week.
Phase 1a
Health care workers fighting COVID-19 and long-term care staff and residents.
• Health care workers caring for and working directly with patients with COVID-19, including staff responsible for cleaning and maintenance in those areas.
• Health care workers administering the vaccine.
• Long-term care staff and residents; people in skilled nursing facilities and in adult, family and group homes.
Phase 1B
Adults 75 years or older and frontline essential workers.
• Group 1: Anyone 75 and older regardless of health status or living conditions.
• Group 2: Health care workers and frontline essential workers 50 years and older.
• Group 3: Health care workers and frontline essential workers of any age .
Phase 2
Adults at high risk for exposure and at increased risk of severe illness.
• Group 1: Anyone 65-74, regardless of health status or living situation.
• Group 2: Anyone 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions that increase risk of severe disease from COVID-19, such as COPD, cancer, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease, Type 2 diabetes, among others.
• Group 3: Anyone who is incarcerated or living in other close group living settings who is not already vaccinated due to age, medical condition or job function.
• Group 4: Essential workers not yet vaccinated.
Phase 3
Students.
• College and university students.
• K-12 students age 16 and over. Younger children will only be vaccinated when the vaccine is approved for them.
Phase 4
Everyone else.
• Anyone who wants the COVID-19 vaccination.
In Buncombe County, vaccinations of Phase 1a are well underway, vaccinating frontline workers from ICU nurses to emergency services personnel receiving their shots, as doesMission Health, which has received many more vaccines.
►County moving to next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations as cases, hospitalizations surge
The county will move to Phase 1b, group 1, on Jan. 11, and may move to Phase 1b, group 2, as early as Jan. 25.
Questions answered
The state says "You have a spot, take your shot," and its vaccination website is YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov,so when can you get yours, and what do you need to do to make sure it happens?
Readers have sent in many questions about just how and when vaccines will reach who in the county, and what folks need to do to make sure they've got a spot in line.
Answers were pulled from state resources online, and from information shared by NCDHHS and county spokespeople in emails, interviews and public updates, including Buncombe County Public Health Director Stacie Saunders, County Public Health Preparedness Director Fletch Tove and William Hathaway, chief medical officer for Mission Health HCA North Carolina Division.
How will you know when and where to get your shot?
The state says to talk with your health care provider or employer about where your spot is according to your health and job status. The state is currently still in Phase 1a, but hopes early this year for health departments and community health centers to move to Phase 1b.
How will health status or employment status be determined to show a person is in a certain vaccination group?
"A lot of this is the honor system," Saunders said in a media call Jan. 6, on Phase 1b, group 1, vaccinations in the county. As vaccines move to future groups, she pointed to the state's deeper dive documentsexplaining exactly who falls into which group.
How can you sign up to get your shot?
Currently, Buncombe County is vaccinating only frontline health care workers, and starting Jan. 11, people 75 and over. Those people will be able to call the health department to schedule a vaccine.
The county announced Jan. 6 that starting Jan. 7, people 75 and older can call Buncombe County Health and Human Services at 828-250-5000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and as long as vaccine doses are available, appointments will be available.
Because of phone line issues Jan. 7, the county has established a one-day-only line to call,828-419-0095. Again, that number is for Thursday only.
When an appointment is made, the person will receive information on where and when they'll get their vaccine.
As the county moves into later phases encompassing more people, it hopes to have a website portal set up either through the state's system or county website where people can go to schedule their appointment.
Can you get COVID-19 from the vaccine?
No. There is no COVID-19 in the vaccines. The vaccines give your body instructions to make a protein that safely teaches it how to fight off the real virus. Temporary reactions include sore arms, headaches, and feeling tired and achy for a day or two.
After the second dose, how long does it take for full immunity of the vaccine to take effect?
A USA TODAY report on the COVID-19 vaccines says that during the trials, patients were observed to see ifthey came down with the virus starting one week after their second doses, and the state reports both vaccines to be 95% effective.
Will the vaccine be free?
Yes, the state says the vaccines will be free, regardless of insurance status.
Buncombe County, in its announcement Jan. 6, said there is a small administrative fee covered by insurance, but "cost will not be a barrier to your COVID-19 immunization."
Who is a 'frontline essential worker'listed in Phase 1b Group 3?
The state refers in its plan to the CDC definition of a frontline essential worker, as "first responders (e.g., firefighters and police officers), corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, U.S.Postal Service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, and those who work in the education sector, (teachers and support staff members) as well as child care workers."
Who is an 'essential worker'listed in Phase 2 Group 4?
The state again leans on CDC definitions here, saying these are workers "in transportation and logistics, water and wastewater, food service, shelter and housing (e.g., construction), finance (e.g. bank tellers), information technology and communications, energy, legal, media, and public safety (e.g. engineers), and public health workers."
What are the latest estimates on when the state can move to Phase 1b, Phase 2, and other phases?
The schedule is set by the state Department of Health and Human Services. Buncombe County is rolling out Phase 1b, group 1, on Jan. 11 and can roll out Phase 1b, group 2, on Jan. 25. But Tove said the county may continue to focus on Phase 1b, group 1. States are allocated phases weekly, so the state cannot predict the timeline for each phase. NCDHHS noted that there are an estimated 435,000 people statewide aged 75 and older, and in the following Phase 1b groups there are 583,000 frontline essential workers and 292,000 direct health care workers that were not included in Phase 1a.
How many doses is the state expecting this week, and is the average weekly allocation expected to increase in the future?
The state is shipping 61,425 firstdoses and 85,800 second dosesof the Pfizer vaccine the week of Jan. 4 and 60,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine, bringing the running total for four weeks of shipments to 669,650 doses, including second doses, and 583,850 not including second doses. Supplies are very limited and will likely continue to be limited over the next several months, according to NCDHHS Press AssistantCatie Armstrong.
As Phase 1a completes, will allocations of the vaccine be focused away from hospitals, and will hospitals be places members of the public will go to get vaccinated?
Hathaway said Mission Health plans to help vaccinatepeople in the community beyond frontline health care workers, but with supplies where they are now, he said its still unclear what that plan will look like.
Where will people go to get vaccinated?
Buncombe County is establishing its main vaccination site at the A-B Tech events center and plans in the future to expand to the old Sears building at the Asheville Mall.
Vaccines will first be available in hospitals, local health departments and long-term care facilities, according to the state, then in a variety of clinics, pharmacies and vaccination events in the community.
Locally, Ingles grocery stores has announced that once the vaccines become widely available, it will be administered at their 109 pharmacies in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.
The federal government has also partnered with nearly 20 other chain pharmacies including CVS, Walgreen's, Publix, Rite Aid and Walmart to administer future vaccines.
Are there dates when people can sign up to be included in their correct groups or put their names down to get in line for the vaccine? Will they have to? If so, where can that be found?
Starting Jan. 11, those 75 and older can call the health department to schedule a vaccine appointment, and as later phases are opened up, plans call for a website either hosted by the state or the county where people can schedule appointments.
What if people jump the line?
Vaccine phases are designed to save lives and prevent COVID-19 spread, Armstrong said. People who try to jump the line undermine that mission. State Health Secretary Mandy Cohen has reached out to leaders of the state's Clinical Boards and Associations to help curb the practice of people jumping the line.
"We want to be proactive and prevent bad actors from trying to profit off the vaccine to the detriment (of) protecting life and preventing the spread of COVID-19," Armstrongwrote in an email.
What about consent, mandates, or presenting identification when getting vaccinated?
Verbal consent can be provided, but some providers may require written consent. The state has no plan to mandate the vaccine, but some employers or schools may require their employees or students be vaccinated, and while some providers could request ID, the state does not require identification for vaccinations.
Buncombe County will require the person getting vaccinated or a legal guardian to sign a consent form. Language services will be available and there is not an identification requirement or citizen status requirement.
How is the health department reaching out to historically marginalized populations?
As the county starts entering further phases of the vaccine, it will reach out to media partners, on social media and online, to community leaders and community influencers, stakeholders in the faith community and more to get the word out, Saunders said, something officials continually plan around almost every day.
When will the county have enough vaccines administered to reach a state of herd immunity?
Once about 50% of the population gets vaccinated, it can start to change the current trends, Tove said, but herd immunity needs about 70% of the population vaccinated, adding the factor of people's willingness to get the vaccine into the equation. In the Jan. 5 update, he asked for patience from the community and said the vaccine effort will likely be a yearlong one.
Will the North Carolina National Guard be deployed to help with vaccination efforts?
The National Guard is mobilized to help, Armstrong said. They are coordinating with NCDHHS and North Carolina Emergency Management to provide vaccination and logistics support, and Saunders said they've had no formal conversations with the state about National Guard deployment in Buncombe County.
Will those who have been vaccinated be entered into a database to show they've been vaccinated? Will they receive a hard copy certification? Will that certification impact travel or other restrictions, like restaurant dining?
Yes. People who get the vaccine will be registered into the state's CVMS database at the site, and they will receive a physical card showing their lot number and that they'll hopefully bring back when getting their second dose, Saunders said. There are currently no plans to show that anyone who has received the vaccine can be exempted from any travel-related or other safety orders.
Are people who have been vaccinated still required to wear masks and follow other safety measures afterwards?
Yes. It's "immensely important" that folks still follow the 3Ws, stay at home when possible, limit their interactions and wear masks even with folks they know and trust. Saunders and Tove say the county isstill a long way from a place where it can consider backing away from any of those at this point.
►'People are going to go into ruin': Restaurants face 'impossible' county restrictions
Where to find out more:
NCDHHS COVID-19 Information Hub: www.nc.gov/covid19
- The hub provides links to the latest dashboards, news releases, frequently asked questions, and has a place to sign up for email updates.
Buncombe County COVID-19 info: www.buncombecounty.org/covid-19
- The county’s website includes its information on vaccine plans, testing, community resources, upcoming testing events, a COVID-19 self-checker and the latest news releases and announcements.
NC COVID-19 dashboard: covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard
- The state’s dashboard is updated every day around noon, showing the latest case counts, hospitalizations, outbreaks and clusters, deaths, testing data and more.
Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 homepage: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov
- The CDC’s main COVID-19 page provides info on how to slow the spread of the virus, when to quarantine, the latest information on the new variant of the virus, as well as data tracking, science and research, advice for traveling and those at risk and more.
Mission Health COVID-19 resources: www.missionhealth.org/covid-19
- Mission’s COVID-19 page hosts vaccine information, the latest visitor restrictions and information regarding telemedicine, and information specific to expectant parents, cancer patients, those with scheduled surgeries and more.
NCDHHS fact sheet: files.nc.gov/covid/documents/COVID-19-Vaccine-Update.pdf
- The state has its own Q-and-A about the vaccines, including questions on their safety, efficacy, authorization and the state's data-tracking system.
