There is little doubt that the response to COVID-19 has changed dramatically since the global pandemic was first declared more than a year ago. Information about vaccine availability in North Carolina and groups currently eligible to get a vaccine are hot topics of conversation. The NC Department of Health and Human Services and local public health officials are continually updating information to keep the community informed.
But many people, including local law enforcement officials, have expressed frustration about just how and when those vaccines are distributed and being given.
Since the first vaccines were administered, there have been shifts in groups and phases eligible to get the vaccine. For instance, Phase 1b originally included people 75 years old or older. In mid-January, however, that age was amended to include those 65 years or older; the Centers for Disease Control recommended that first responders be included among the first wave of vaccinations; North Carolina determined that first responders would fall into a lower priority category.
3-24-21 TownTalk Broadcast Audio
Granville-Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison said because North Carolina placed first responders in Group 3, law enforcement officers “were officially only allowed to access the vaccine” since March 3. North Carolina moved to Group 3 for Frontline Essential Workers that includes childcare and PreK-12 school workers on Feb. 24, she said. “But truthfully, we started with first responders and kept rolling with them as much as possible, since there was mixed interest among those in Groups 1 and 2. Those who came to us for vaccine were not turned away,” Harrison noted.
Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow said his department got information in December regarding the shot that later was taken back. “Back in December, they had an entirely different play book,” Barrow told WIZS Wednesday. “The day after three of us got our first shot they changed it and moved all law enforcement further down,” he said. Fire and EMS personnel remained in the higher priority group and got their shots, he said, but “I had to scrounge and get my personnel first in where I could with leftovers.”
Barrow was quick to add that he was not being critical of local health officials. “The director has bent over backwards to help us get everyone in,” he said. “It was just how the state of North Carolina decided to place us.”
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame told WIZS News by phone that “a large percentage of deputies and jail personnel” have been vaccinated. He said that “by working at some of the sites” of vaccination, his personnel were able to get in line when no one else was present to receive the shot and yet a few doses remained.
Jeff Rowan, first sergeant for NC Highway Patrol Troop C, District 4, said Wednesday that he followed a process to inform his personnel about the vaccine. His role was “to reach out to…personnel and find out who wanted to be vaccinated,” Rowan told WIZS News. His district includes Vance, Franklin and Warren counties, so he sent troopers’ names to the emergency management services agency in the troopers’ home counties. “Once I did that, that county would reach out to that…trooper” to set up a time to get vaccinated. “My understanding was we were in phase 2, so that wouldn’t happen until phase 1 was complete,” he said. “As of today, anyone who wanted a vaccination in this district is vaccinated,” Rowan added.
The plan to begin vaccinating Phase 1a – those health care workers and others most at risk for severe disease or death from COVID-19 – started in mid-December 2020 in North Carolina. People in Phase 1b would follow, and the groups would continue to be eligible based on certain criteria such as age, co-morbidity and places of employment. The state further defined its vaccination strategy after people from neighboring states were driving over the border to North Carolina to get their shots. People crossed county lines to get vaccinated, which also added to frustration among those who were waiting to get their shot.
“The state clarified in January that the health care workers and first responders eligible for vaccine in Group 1 needed to be COVID-19 patient-facing,” Harrison explained. That meant that EMS workers transporting sick or symptomatic patients, as well as ICU and Emergency Department workers would have priority to get the vaccine. Also, those giving the shots in large clinic settings would have priority, she said. Soon after, those in long-term care facilities and staff who had been working outbreaks with the most severe illness and death would be eligible.
At first, demand far exceeded vaccine supply, but now that trend has subsided in some counties and state news outlets have reported leftover vaccine as a result of low turnout at previous vaccination sites. Now that demand seems to be tapering off and counties’ vaccination rates rise, state officials are changing course and focusing on putting more vaccine doses in areas with lower percentage of vaccination rates.
Harrison said the health department routinely gives 2,500 shots – either first or second doses – in the two counties each week. But the first shipment received in Granville County on Dec. 22, 2020 only had 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine, she said. Appointment slots were filled as quickly as they opened up, fueling frustration in the community.
As more doses began to come in, Harrison said, the easier it was to open up a little earlier to different groups. “In our two counties, the population size and the number of providers vaccinating has allowed us to move slightly ahead of the curve and include those who needed vaccine – including dentists and first responders, beyond just those who were patient-facing, but it’s all very hard,” she said.
“We are all first responders,” said Sheriff Brame. “We just have different titles, but I’m not going to complain.” He said, “We followed the orders that came from above … I’ve always been a fighter for law enforcement, so don’t count us out.”
Harrison said Tiffanie Boone, GVPH immunization nurse, has always prioritized and included first responders in the health department vaccine program.
“It is very sad and disappointing we couldn’t get to everyone faster and prevent more severe illness and death,” Harrison said. “I agree that’s why vaccine is so very important and I appreciate those who help others understand that vaccines save lives.”
According to the NCDHHS website, North Carolina is currently vaccinating people in Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4: High-Risk Conditions and Additional Congregate Settings.
Learn more at YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov.