RALEIGH – North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced on Tuesday that the state will more quickly open the eligibility of the COVID-19 vaccine to those who are essential frontline workers or have serious underlying health problems.
The state was set to allow a broad group of workers, from postman to elected officials, to start receiving vaccines on March 10. But with the approval of a Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine and more than 80,000 doses coming soon, public health officials will now allow frontline staff to be vaccinated starting on Wednesday – a week before the foreseen.
Meanwhile, North Carolina residents under the age of 65 with high-risk medical conditions that put them at greater risk for serious illnesses if they become infected with the virus will become eligible on March 24.
“We will open group 4 first for people with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of serious risk for COVID-19,” Cooper said at a news conference. “The third vaccine and improving the supply of the two that we are already receiving will help us to vaccinate more people more quickly.”
Clinically vulnerable people have fallen to the end of the prioritization schedule since the state unveiled its initial distribution plan in October 2020. After former President Donald Trump’s administration encouraged states to give more preference to those with at least 75-year-old North Carolina adjusted her plan and reduced people with chronic conditions to Phase 2 of the distribution schedule. When the federal government again revised the guidelines to include people aged 65 and over at the top of the list, younger adults with medical conditions were pushed further down the list to Phase 4.
The reprioritization generated some complaints from defenders of the vulnerable from the medical point of view. The initial guidance favored those with two or more chronic conditions, while the new guidance announced on Tuesday allows anyone aged 16-64 with a chronic condition to be vaccinated as of March 24, although providers may decide not to open consultations if demand remains high for groups earlier.
According to current state guidance published online, people can receive a vaccine in about three weeks if they have at least one of 18 eligible conditions, ranging from cancer and cystic fibrosis to overweight or ex-smoker. Representatives from Cooper’s office and the state health department did not immediately provide an explanation as to whether people of all conditions will have equal preference.
North Carolina is not the only state that is expanding the vaccine’s eligibility to those with serious underlying health problems. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced on Tuesday that his state would offer doses to clinically vulnerable groups starting next Monday. People would be required to provide evidence to confirm their high-risk medical condition. California responded to frustrated residents by opening vaccinations for people with disabilities and adults at risk from March 15.
North Carolina’s top public health official, Dr. Mandy Cohen, noted that the state would update its website to include more people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and neurological conditions in Phase 4. Cohen also announced that those receiving home care from long-term for more than 30 days, but not living in a long-term facility, will be retroactively in Phase 1, which was launched in December.
Cohen said President Joe Biden’s administration has told the state that it will not send any Johnson & Johnson vaccines next week and will likely have a small amount available for the week of March 15. In the last week of March or the first week of April, North Carolina expects to receive more than 80,000 weekly doses from Johnson & Johnson. About 215,000 new first doses of Pfizer and Moderna are being shipped to the state this week, paving the way for a total of nearly 300,000 North Carolina residents to start vaccinating.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services leader plans to receive a vaccine later this week and said the third vaccine, while not as effective as Pfizer and Moderna in preventing milder illnesses, is almost as effective preventing COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths. Even so, she wants people to have the ability to know which vaccine they are getting when they make an appointment.
“When people are signing up for the vaccine, we are working with our vaccine suppliers to make sure they are being very clear about whether this is a single dose vaccine clinic or a double dose vaccine clinic,” said Cohen .