Raleigh, NC – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have told state health officials that winter storms in the U.S. are likely to delay the weekly delivery of the coronavirus vaccine to North Carolina.
State Department of Health and Human Services officials said they are working with vaccination providers to minimize the disruption.
Halifax County officials said they were canceling vaccination appointments on Wednesday because they were not given doses to deliver the vaccines.
“As soon as we receive the vaccine, we will allow everyone who has been scheduled to be prioritized for the first possible vaccination date. At the moment, we do not know when we will be able to receive the vaccine,” Halifax County officials said in a statement.
Fort Bragg officials also suspended planned vaccinations on Wednesday because no vaccines were available there.
The impact on Wake County’s planned drive-thru vaccination clinics at the PNC Arena in Raleigh was not immediately known.
The clinics are scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, when 4,300 vaccines will be applied. The authorities said 3,325 doses will come from the county health department’s weekly quota, with the other 975 coming from the WakeMed quota.
The injections will be administered only by appointment, and county officials have contacted people on the vaccination waiting list to set up appointment times.
More than 2,000 people were vaccinated against coronavirus in clinics outside the PNC Arena last Thursday and Saturday.
More than 1.8 million vaccinations have been administered in North Carolina since mid-December, according to DHHS. This means that 12 percent of all North Carolinians received at least one of the two required doses and 5.4 percent are fully vaccinated.