The light at the end of the pandemic tunnel may be nearing, as doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are scheduled to arrive.
Graham County Health Director Beth Booth said the county was slated to receive its first 100 doses of the newly-approved Moderna vaccine soon after Christmas. The first shipment will be used to vaccinate the state’s Phase 1A group of the most high-risk people, including healthcare workers, first responders and those in long-term care centers, after which vaccines will be administered as available.
Booth said the availability to the general public will largely be based on the shipments of doses to the county, but could come to the public sooner than the initial timeframe of late spring and early summer 2021. The Moderna vaccine was granted emergency approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday, Dec. 17.
“It’s a big turning point in the pandemic’s process, because you have something to fight the disease with,” Booth said. “Previously we had nothing, so this is pretty big.”
She said the vaccine would be given free of charge, and would come in two doses, given 28 days apart. Immunity is achieved approximately three weeks after the second dose.
The vaccine will only be administered at the health department building, located at 191 P & J Road in Robbinsville. An appointment will be required, and the patient will need to remain at the health department for monitoring for an hour after each dose.
“Nobody needs to come on their lunch break,” Booth said.
The vaccine will be administered for free, regardless of the recipient’s insurance status.
Booth said interest in the vaccine also seemed to be growing locally.
“The inquiries go up daily,” Booth said. “We’re getting a lot of folks that are interested in it, which is really good.”
North Carolina will not be mandating the vaccine, although some employers and schools may choose to do so.
The state has set the vaccine rollout up into five phases, the first of which, phase 1A, includes healthcare workers and long-term care residents and employees. Phase 1B will include adults at the highest risk for serious illness or exposure to the coronavirus. Phase 2 will include adults at high risk for exposure and increased risk of severe illness, while Phase 3 will include students and critical industry workers. Phase 4 is the final phase and will be open to anyone wanting to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
More information on the vaccine can be found at ncdhhs.gov.