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North Carolina will expand its COVID-19 vaccination protocols, offering vaccines to people 65 and older, Governor Roy Cooper said Thursday.
The change is part of evolving federal guidelines, adding the youngest to those 75 and older, whom the state has started immunizing in recent days.
This would open up the vaccine to a million more people in North Carolina. This is far more than the state has on hand, so administering these doses may take weeks or more.
Cooper, speaking at a virtual meeting of the NC County Commissioners Association Thursday morning, said more details would come later. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr Mandy Cohen plans press call at 2 p.m.
“We will open the criteria for people 65 and over,” the governor said. “So not only will people 75 and over be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine now, but … those 65 and over will be vaccinated, as will health care providers.”
Cooper asked county commissioners to encourage their local health departments, which handle the logistics of the vaccine rollout that were initially slow, to use up the doses sent as quickly as possible. He called on the commissioners to “make this a top priority” and said they should also pressure the health services to record the given doses in the state’s vaccine tracking system.
Health departments have criticized the system for being time-consuming and clunky, but the data sent back to the state is used to determine future vaccine allocations. Cooper encouraged county governments to seek the help they need, including the logistics of scheduling appointments and entering data.
He also called on county commissioners to set a good example, by wearing masks and social distancing.
“The next few months are going to be tough,” Cooper said. “No matter how many people we vaccinate, we know that we will not be able to achieve acquired immunity for several months. So our prevention efforts are more important than ever. I ask you all to give examples.”
He also reiterated a suggestion that they pass local ordinances to enforce the mask and other mandates he passed down to the state level. Some have criticized the governor for sending state-wide decrees, but leaving it to local authorities to enforce them, or leaving them largely unenforced.
“We are asking your sheriffs and others to help us because we can save lives,” Cooper said Thursday morning.
WRAL News reporter Ali Ingersoll contributed to this report.
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