Raleigh, NC – Governor Roy Cooper mobilized the North Carolina National Guard on Tuesday to speed up the launch of the vaccine in the state.
“Ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines are administered quickly is our top priority now,” Cooper tweeted. “We will use all the necessary resources and personnel. I have mobilized the NC National Guard to provide support to local health providers as we continue to increase the rate of vaccinations.”
North Carolina has one of the lowest vaccine administration rates in the country, according to figures from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The slow launch of the vaccine is not simply a North Carolina phenomenon, and several health experts have criticized the vaccine’s operation across the country.
“The United States really screwed up the vaccine launch,” said Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist who recently left Harvard University through the Federation of American Scientists, on Twitter. “Only 4 million injections administered over the course of a month, despite the promise of 20 million by the end of 2020. The United States needs to give 7-10 million vaccines a week.”
But the process has been particularly slow in North Carolina, based on data released by the CDC. On Tuesday, the CDC said North Carolina had 498,450 doses delivered and administered 121,881. The state’s vaccination rate per 100,000 people has made North Carolina the 12th slowest state in the country.
“Although a vaccine was created earlier than expected, the state has had months to prepare a distribution plan. It is inexcusable that vaccines remain on the shelf for so long,” said Lauren Horsch, a spokeswoman for the Senate president, Pro There’s Phil Berger. . “It is good that the governor realizes this and plans to mobilize the National Guard. We are waiting to see if there is a plan behind this announcement.”
Cooper’s move comes two days after state deputy Billy Richardson, D-Cumberland, asked Cooper to enlist the help of the National Guard.
“The number of North Carolina people who contract Covid daily is impressive, and the slow distribution of vaccines is disturbing,” wrote Richardson in his letter. “Now is the time to act promptly and with a renewed commitment to bipartisan results.”
The letter states that 26 states planned to mobilize their Guard units to help distribute vaccines, a number reported by the Department of Defense’s National Guard in mid-December.
The number may be lower now. An agency spokeswoman told WRAL News on Tuesday that seven states are using National Guard units that provide some support, but added that this may not be a complete count.
Richardson said it was “unwise” to have hospitals and other healthcare professionals already struggling with the increase in coronavirus patients to also deal with vaccination logistics.
“What we must do is use the various resources of the state and the nation to help the health system do what it does best,” he said.
“There are some who can really help give vaccines; some will help with logistics and other things, ”said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, about assistance from the National Guard.
Richardson also asked General Assembly leaders to return to the session on vaccine issues, or at least be ready for action on the first day of a legislative session already scheduled to begin next week.
It was not explained exactly what legislation might be needed, but Richardson said the state should “train and finance our National Guard to overcome road blocks that currently prevent the rapid and efficient delivery of vaccines to our citizens”.
“The day we are jurors, put us to work,” Richardson told WRAL News. “When we focus on a specific problem, the magic happens.”
The legislature should focus on solutions rather than implementation problems, he said. But a legislative oversight committee already plans to delve deeper into the effort to distribute the vaccine during a meeting next week.
“This is unprecedented and we are going to make mistakes,” said Richardson.