The numbers of COVID cases are stable this week in NC, though not going down as had been hoped with increasing vaccination. Almost 48% of all NC adults have now received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, with about 38% of all NC adults fully vaccinated. The administration of J&J vaccines can now be resumed, though this vaccine was not available at the Four Seasons Center site when I checked this morning.
More people are now traveling and the relaxation of mask mandates and loosening of public restrictions continues. COVID variants which are more contagious are now the predominant strains circulating. The spike of cases in India which is currently causing so much distress and overwhelming of resources there is a cautionary tale which reminds us that cases could start to mount here again.
Friends are advised to continue to take the precautions to prevent COVID infections including masking, physical distancing and frequent hand washing. All persons 16 years and older are now eligible for vaccination in NC. Those 16 years of age and older can have the Pfizer vaccine while the Moderna vaccine is approved for those 18 years of age and older. CDC guidelines explaining what activities may now be safe were issued a few weeks ago with a travel advisory update for fully vaccinated persons issued 4/2/21.This and other guidelines can be found at https://tinyurl.com/hsfsmzcx. Friends are encouraged to read these guidelines to help them decide what activities are appropriate for each family group. Persons, vaccinated or not, are still encouraged to wear masks, physically distance and wash hands frequently when in public places or in medium/ large groups of people. Symptomatic (cough , fever, shortness of breath) persons still need to be tested and treated regardless of vaccination status. Also persons in higher risk categories should be mindful that just because they are vaccinated does not mean they can have unmasked visits with individuals at higher risk for having the virus.
As of 4/26//21 Cone Health announced that they will continue to vaccinate 16-18 year olds and up at their vaccination sites and walk in vaccinations will be given though appointments are still preferred. As of today they have vaccine appointments available .They have Moderna and Pzifer vaccines depending on what site you sign up for. The Cone Health web site is https://tinyurl.com/dmhfc8zk. The Cone vaccine information site also has links to other county sites and allows persons to sign up for vaccine updates. Cone does not want their patients to call their individual provider offices for vaccination appointments, however some other health organizations like Wake Forest Baptist Health and Novant are allowing sign ups/information for their patients through their on-line patient charts.
Guilford County sign up may be done at www.healthyguilford.com (Email address required) or by phone 336-641-7944, option 2. Phone appointments must be made 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. They also have only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and a person may choose which vaccine they sign up for. The vaccination sites still include Mount Zion Baptist Church, High Point Community University Center and Greensboro Coliseum. Subscribe to updates about vaccine availability and appointment openings from the Guilford Health Department by texting GC19 (or GC19S for Spanish) to 888777. They are also now doing walk-in appointments.
The Four Seasons Mall site is also delivering vaccinations for walk in and drive up vaccines, they will be operating through May 27, 2021 according to one local news report. They schedule appointments as well at GSOmassvax.org No J&J vaccines are being used there now, only the Pfizer vaccine is currently being used.
Another resource is https://vaccinefinder.org which tracks what pharmacies have available vaccine and of what type within 10 ( or other # of miles) of your zip code. A quick check of this resource today shows vaccine is at some of the pharmacies close to my house in Greensboro this week. Walgreens will let you sign up for a vaccine at Walgreens.com or CVS.com after setting up an account with them. Other pharmacies have similar sign up opportunities. The NC site which helps persons find a vaccination site is https://myspot.nc.gov/. This site will also show you where vaccines are available close to your zip code. NC has said all groups are now eligible for vaccine.
Friends are reminded that the Affordable Health Care Marketplace is open until May 15, 2021 to allow persons who have lost their health care coverage during the pandemic to sign up. Research that option at: https://www.healthcare.gov/