ALEXANDER COUNTY, NC (January 29, 2021) – The Alexander County Health Department is scheduled to receive 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine each week for the next three weeks. There are approximately 3,500 people (age 65+ or in health care) who have submitted their contact information to be scheduled for an appointment, so citizens are encouraged to be patient as vaccine supply remains limited.
Staff has already started contacting those ages 75+ and health care employees who are on the waiting list to receive the vaccine next week. They will then contact those ages 65-74 who are on the waiting list in the order in which their information was received.
The health department continues to administer the second dose of the vaccine as scheduled to those who have already received the first dose. Second doses are NOT affected by the recent vaccine shortage. If you are scheduled to receive your second dose, please keep your appointment to ensure the vaccine’s effectiveness.
According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), the health department has administered 2,575 first doses and 430 second doses for a total of 3,005 vaccinations.
If you have called and left your contact information on the hotline (828-352-7724) or submitted your information via the online form (www.alexandercountync.gov/covid), there is no need to submit your contact information again. If you are in Group 1 (health care) or Group 2 (ages 65+) and have not submitted your information, please do so to ensure that you get the vaccine.
The health department is also accepting candidates for its “quick-response list” for those who can arrive in 15 minutes or less to be vaccinated at the end of the day to avoid wasting any vaccine. If interested, call the hotline or complete the online form.
As the state’s distribution plan progresses, three local pharmacies will also be providing vaccinations: Walmart Pharmacy, Office Practice of Pharmacy, Peoples Drug, and Town & Country Drugs. Currently, no timeline has been provided by the state as to when these pharmacies will receive the vaccine.
COVID-19 Update
According to information received by the health department, there are currently 13 people hospitalized with COVID-19. Sadly, there have been 65 deaths associated with the virus which is an increase of four deaths since January 22. According to NCDHHS, Alexander County has a cumulative total of 3,455 confirmed COVID-19 cases, which includes 301 cases in the past 14 days and 139 cases in the past seven days.
Alexander County remains a “red” county for critical community spread in the state’s County Alert System. As of January 28, Alexander County’s COVID-19 positive rate has declined to 9.9 percent while the state rate declined to 7.9 percent.
Group 1: Health care workers & Long-Term Care staff and residents
• Health care workers with in-person patient contact
• Long-term care staff and residents — people in skilled nursing facilities, adult care homes, and continuing care retirement communities
Group 2: Older adults
• Anyone 65 years or older, regardless of health status or living situation
Group 3: Frontline essential workers
• The CDC defines frontline essential workers as workers who are in sectors essential to the functioning of society, who are at substantially higher risk for exposure to COVID-19, work in-person at their job, and work in one of these eight essential sectors: critical manufacturing, education, essential goods, food and agriculture, government and community services, health care and public health, public safety, and transportation.
Group 4: Adults at high risk for exposure and increased risk of severe illness
• Anyone 16-64 years old with high-risk medical conditions that increase risk of severe disease from COVID-19 such as cancer, COPD, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease, Type 2 diabetes, among others, regardless of living situation
• 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
• 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, public safety (e.g., engineers) and public health workers.
Group 5: Everyone who wants a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination
Alexander County Government continues to urge citizens to practice the 3 Ws: wear a mask, wait at least six feet apart, and wash their hands often.
To learn more about the vaccination plan in North Carolina, visit the NCDHHS website at https://yourspotyourshot.nc.gov. There you will find a variety of videos, PDF documents, frequently asked questions, and more.