Press release from Haywood County Emergency Management Team:
The COVID-19 vaccine distribution has begun in Western North Carolina with the first doses going to healthcare workers and emergency medical technicians and paramedics on the frontlines.
With the arrival of a vaccine, hope is on the horizon, but there is still a long road ahead to normal. Exact dates for distribution are not yet available, but a general timeline has been issued.
Over the coming weeks and months, vaccinations will proceed as doses are allotted, in the following manner, according to the risk categories recommended by the CDC.
The first groups will be the health care workers fighting COVID-19 and the long-term care facility residents who have been most vulnerable throughout the pandemic.
Doctors, nurses, and technicians who interact with patients will be administered vaccines at the hospitals. Long term care facility residents, those in nursing homes, and adult, family, and group homes will be administered by pharmacies at the facilities.
Adults at high risk of severe illness and those at highest risk of exposure will be next. This will include people with two or more chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, or diabetes.
Also in this group will be essential frontline workers, such as police, teachers, food processing workers, other health care workers, and those who live or work in prisons or homeless shelters.
Following the risk chart, the next group will be other adults at high risk who didn’t get into the previous groups, including adults over age 65, and adults with one chronic illness.
The next group will be students over the age of 16. The currently available vaccines are not yet approved for children under the age of 16. When that happens, they may also be included in this group.
Those employed in jobs that are critical to society and are at a lower risk of exposure will be eligible at this time.
Lastly, the general public, anyone who has not yet been vaccinated and would like to will be able to participate after those at high risk have had access.
To find your spot in line visit: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines
At each step of the way, Haywood County Health and Human Services will provide updates and plenty of advance notice to make sure that everyone who wants to be vaccinated will have their chance.
Key Points about the COVID-19 vaccine:
- The vaccine is tested, safe, and effective
- You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine
- There will be limited availability at first and more widely available over time.
- The vaccine will be provided free of charge to everyone that wants it.
- Two doses are needed for maximum immunity.
- There is no vaccine mandate.
- Continuing the 3Ws will be critical until the vaccine is widely taken
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