Press release from Buncombe County:
On Tuesday, Feb. 2, Buncombe County Public Health Director Stacie Saunders updated the Board of Commissioners on current COVID-19 metrics. The testing positivity rate fell by 1.4 percentage points to 6.1 percent. While new cases per 100,000 remains high at 255, the number of COVID-19 deaths continues to decrease and is just under an average of two per 100000 per week. Currently, 11.4 percent of inpatient hospital beds are occupied with COVID-19 patients, and 19 percent of ICU beds are held by COVID-19 patients.
As of February 2, 11,625 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Buncombe County. Currently, Buncombe County Health and Human Services is vaccinating individuals in the state’s first two phases of prioritization: health care workers and adults 65 and older. There is no indication as to when the state will open up the next phase to frontline essential workers. The state identifies frontline essential workers as those who work in critical manufacturing, education, essential goods, food and agriculture, government and community services, health care and public health, public safety and transportation. Click here to access North Carolina’s “Deeper Dive – Group 3.”
During the week of Feb. 1, 2,240 first-dose vaccine appointments were scheduled for those individuals in the active phases. For the weeks of Feb. 8 and Feb. 15, 2,040 first-dose vaccine appointments are being scheduled each week. More than 34,000 individuals remain on the wait list.
On Wednesdays moving forward, the website www.buncombeready.org will feature graphics that show the total number of vaccines received, the number of vaccines administered, the number of first dose appointments scheduled, and the waitlist numbers that are actively being scheduled.
There is a standby list made up of people who are next in line on the waitlist for any vaccine left at the end of the day. Those on the standby list must be eligible for the vaccine by being in the current phase and be able to be at the vaccine site within 20 minutes. Should there be any additional vaccine at the end of the day, it will be administered to those qualified individuals. There is no need to come to the sites to inquire about extra vaccine.
Please continue to practice the 3Ws to stop transmission of COVID-19. It will take the vaccine and these important preventative measures to get our families back to a sense of normalcy. For more information about COVID-19, vaccine waitlists and COVID testing, go to www.buncombeready.org.
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