Cooper Mobilizes NC National Guard In Bid To Speed Vaccinations

CHARLOTTE, NC — The North Carolina National Guard has been mobilized to help with the state's COVID-19 vaccination effort, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday.

The announcement comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified North Carolina as one of seven states in the country with the slowest vaccine rollout.

"Ensuring COVID-19 vaccines are administered quickly is our top priority right now. We will use all resources and personnel needed. I’ve mobilized the NC National Guard to provide support to local health providers as we continue to increase the pace of vaccinations," Cooper said in a statement via Twitter Tuesday afternoon.

North Carolina reported a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations Tuesday as the number of known coronavirus cases in the state surged to 575,396, an increase of 5,285 cases in the span of a day.

As of Jan. 5, at least 3,781 patients were hospitalized for coronavirus-related illness, an increase of 146 patients since Monday. The filled hospital beds mean that the state now has about 15 percent of its staffed intensive care unit beds and about 23 percent of staffed inpatient hospital beds remaining available, according to data released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Monday, the CDC's COVID-19 vaccination dashboard indicated that North Carolina had vaccinated 966 people per 100,000, representing less than 1 percent of the state's population WRAL reported. As of Tuesday, the pace picked up to 1,162 people per 100,000.

Most healthcare providers will move into "Phase 1B" — the phase allotted for adults 75 years or older and frontline essential workers who are 50 years old or older, such as firefighters, police officers, grocery store workers and teachers — by next week, DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said last week.

Phase "1B" could include up to 2 million North Carolinians, Cohen said, stressing that the process will require patience. Given the size of shipments to the state, North Carolina likely will not reach Phase 4, when vaccinations should be available for anyone who wants one, until the Spring of 2021, she said.

Here is NCDHHS' updated timeline for vaccination rollout:

Phase 1A: Health care workers fighting COVID-19 & Long-Term Care staff and residents.

• Health care workers caring for and working directly with patients with COVID-19, including staff responsible for cleaning and maintenance in those areas
• Health care workers administering vaccine
• Long-term care staff and residents—people in skilled nursing facilities and in adult, family and group homes.

Phase 1b: Adults 75 years or older and frontline essential workers.
There is not enough vaccine for everyone in this phase to be vaccinated at the same time. Vaccinations will be available to groups in the following order.

• Group 1: Anyone 75 years or older, regardless of health status or living situation
• Group 2: Health care workers and frontline essential workers 50 years or older The CDC defines frontline essential workers as first responders (e.g., firefighters and police officers), corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, U.S. Postal Service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, and those who work in the education sector (teachers and support staff members) as well as child care workers.
• Group 3: Health care workers and frontline essential workers of any age

Phase 2: Adults at high risk for exposure and at increased risk of severe illness.
Vaccinations will happen by group in the following order:

• Group 1: Anyone 65-74 years old, regardless of health status or living situation
• Group 2: Anyone 16-64 years old with high-risk medical conditions that increase risk of severe disease from COVID such as cancer, COPD, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease, Type 2 diabetes, among others, regardless of living situation
• Group 3: Anyone who is incarcerated or living in other close group living settings who is not already vaccinated due to age, medical condition or job function.
• Group 4: Essential workers not yet vaccinated. The CDC defines these as workers in transportation and logistics, water and wastewater, food service, shelter and housing (e.g., construction), finance (e.g., bank tellers), information technology and communications, energy, legal, media, and public safety (e.g., engineers), and public health workers.

Phase 3: Students

• College and university students
• K-12 students age 16 and over. Younger children will only be vaccinated when the vaccine is approved for them.

Phase 4: Everyone who wants a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination.

SEE ALSO:

• COVID-19 Vaccines For 75 And Up To Begin Wednesday In Mecklenburg
• COVID-19 Hospitalizations Peak At More Than 3,600 In NC
  
• Those 75 And Older Next Up For COVID-19 Vaccine: MCPH