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State officials warned on Monday afternoon that North Carolina was on the verge of missing its first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which led to the cancellation of some clinic appointments in come to County Dare.
“There are no adequate words to describe the frustration and dismay felt by myself and our team at having to cancel vaccination appointments for Friday’s clinic through no fault of our own,” said Dr Sheila Davies, Director of Dare County Health & Human Services Department.
“The people of Dare County and rural North Carolina deserve a fair distribution of the state’s vaccines,” Davies said. “We modeled how to safely and effectively deliver a large number of vaccines and repeatedly communicated to the state that we could immunize 2,000 to 4,000 people per week if these vaccines were allocated to us.”
Dare County’s allowance has been cut in half and, as a result, around 300 appointments scheduled for Friday may have to be rescheduled, according to a press release from the Dare County Department of Health.
“Due to the generous transfer of vaccines from the Outer Banks Hospital and a planned transfer from Onslow Memorial Hospital, we will not have to reschedule the 1,100 appointments originally scheduled for Friday January 29,” said the Department.
Davies said Monday morning that she had sent several emails to state health officials since last week, pleading for more information and for the state not to forgo the allowance promised to Dare and the other rural counties that are now intended for the most populous city in North Carolina.
“If someone could pull 700 doses out of the 30,000 event, I would personally make the 11 hour round trip from Dare to Charlotte to collect the doses if that means not having to cancel our clinic,” Davies wrote. at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. staff members.
More from the Dare DHHS statement:
As of this update, only appointments scheduled for January 29, 2021 are affected. If you or a loved one has an appointment scheduled for this clinic and your appointment is affected by the vaccine shortage, you will receive a phone call to reschedule it. Be patient and wait for a member of staff to call you. Everyone will be contacted with an appointment, when the vaccine is available to welcome you.
The Dare County Department of Health and Human Services has made many efforts to work with NC Public Health to obtain the additional vaccines needed to meet scheduled appointments this week and will continue to advocate for an increase in the supply of vaccines for its residents.
You can direct any concerns or questions about vaccine allocation for Dare County to officials in your state or to the North Carolina Public Health Customer Service Center at 1-800-662-7030.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported that 88% of all first doses were given on Sunday evening.
As of Wednesday, North Carolina will only have 120,000 doses to distribute statewide, according to a statement from the NCDHSS.
The department said a significant portion of those doses are spent on large-scale events planned several weeks ago to address the vaccine backlog.
The News and Observer reported on Saturday one that includes events at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
As a result, many providers are receiving little or no benefits for the coming week, and North Carolina health departments and hospitals have been forced to cancel upcoming appointments and clinics.
Echoing much of the frustration shared by colleagues across the state, Davies sent a terse email to Raleigh, including NC Director of Health Betsy Tilson:
Did you get the emails this weekend regarding the frustration, anger, pain, and disrespect from directors of health across the state?
I thought on Thursday night when we were told we were only getting 600 doses this coming week that Dare County was in the minority but after receiving at least 20 emails from health directors whose allocations had been cut like ours, I realized that I am not alone. It doesn’t give me any comfort.
Governor, Dr. Cohen, and top state leaders preached to us about the urgency of vaccinating and documenting more than once last week and called us to action. As the health departments in North Carolina continue to do, day in and day out, we have stepped up and delivered. But instead of the state trusting these loyal officials, my understanding is that our allocations have been diluted to be sent to large-scale urban events hosted by state partners. It’s really hard to describe what a stab in the back looks like. The very teams that broke their buttocks for 11 months have been beaten up and it’s more than disappointing and hurtful. I learned from a few people that things in Raleigh were pretty hot on Friday afternoon because there were at least two partners trying to advocate for local (and especially rural) public health.
I love my community, as do my fellow local directors of health across the state. The motivation to work seven days a week for almost 11 months is to do everything in our power to help improve the health and well-being of the people we serve. In clinics scheduled last week and running this week, we provided and documented around 2,900 doses last week alone. We vaccinated nearly 1,200 people yesterday at our largest mass clinic to date. No one was in our building for more than 30 minutes (entry for exit, including their required 15 minute surveillance time). It was a hugely successful event and demonstrated to us that we easily have the capacity in Dare County to vaccinate 2,000 people per day in our clinics. Yes, 2000 PEOPLE IN DARE COUNTY PER DAY! Local public health, even in non-urban areas, can build powerful teams and produce extraordinary results.
We have trusted state leaders throughout this pandemic and we expect the same courtesy. The state needs to find a way to put more doses into local health departments and not redirect them to large-scale events with partner companies. The state should also direct doses to health services that consistently follow phase guidelines and not just vaccinate anyone who comes in line. Hearing about the 16,000 and 30,000 doses given at a few large-scale events in urban areas is a real slap in the face for rural areas which have demonstrated their ability to deliver (and only ask for 700 doses).
This shift to the midpoint of dose allocation for local rural public health departments is forcing many of us to now have to call thousands of people aged 65 and over and postpone their appointments until who knows. when. Dare County needs 700 extra doses this week to prevent that from happening, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting any extra doses, but 30,000 doses are going to be given this week at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte?
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2021/01/22/atrium-health-begins-covid-19-vaccine-distributions-at-charlotte-motor-speedway
Anyway, to quote one of my colleagues from the many emails between health directors this weekend, “Terrible position (NC DHHS) has put local partners who were committing suicide to try to help you. With such partners, you certainly don’t need enemies ”.
I think it’s important that you know what a kick in the stomach a lot of us feel that we’ve been given.
WRAL-TV reported that NCDHHS Secretary Dr Mandy Cohen took responsibility for a conference call with health department and hospital officials on Monday afternoon to urge them to use their health as much as possible. vaccine allowances last week.
The state has asked hospitals and health departments in recent weeks to speed up and reduce the backlog of doses so that the federal government does not punish the state by reducing future shipments, according to WRAL. But the new pace did not mean the state would receive more than the first roughly 120,000 doses it received each week.
“I apologize for not being clearer,” Cohen said on the afternoon call. “I am the owner and I apologize. It has put you all in a difficult and difficult position.
“As long as we receive such a small amount of vaccine as a state, there will be challenges and shortages as we try to ensure equitable access to the vaccine, while receiving quick gunshots. We understand this is difficult for vendors who are doing everything right, ”Cohen said in a statement after the conference call.
NCDHHS said it would share more detailed guidance on the allocation process for the coming weeks on Tuesday “to provide more transparency and certainty now that the state has largely exhausted the vaccine supply backlog.” .
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