North Carolina will expand its COVID-19 vaccine protocols and offer shots to people 65 and older, Governor Roy Cooper said Thursday.
The change is in line with the shift in federal guidelines, adding the younger age group of people at 75 and older, who have been vaccinated by the state in recent days.
That would open up the vaccine to as many as a million more people in North Carolina. This is much more than the state has shots for, so administering these doses can take weeks or longer.
Cooper, who spoke Thursday morning about a virtual meeting of the NC Association of County Commissioners, said more details would come later. Minister of Health and Human Services, dr. Mandy Cohen, plans a press conference at 14:00
“We are going to open the criteria for people aged 65 and older,” the governor said. “So, not only will people aged 75 and over now be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but … those 65 and older will be with healthcare providers.”
Cooper has asked land commissioners to encourage their local health departments, which handle the logistics for the explosion of vaccines that were initially sluggish, to use doses as quickly as possible. He asked commissioners to make it “an absolute priority” and said they should also put pressure on health departments to report doses given in the state’s vaccination detection system.
Health departments have criticized the system as time-consuming and cumbersome, but the data returned to the state is used to determine future vaccines. Cooper encouraged provincial governments to ask for help they needed, including logistics of setting up appointments and importing data.
He also asked land commissioners to set a good example, with masks and social distance.
“The next few months are going to be tough,” Cooper said. “No matter how many people we vaccinate, we know we will not get the immunity for a few months. Our prevention efforts are therefore more important than ever before. I ask you all to set examples. ‘
He also reiterated a proposal that they should pass local ordinances to enforce mask and other mandates he has given at the state level. Some criticized the governor for sending orders nationwide but leaving it to local authorities to enforce, or to leave it largely unforced.
“We are asking your sheriffs and others to help us with this because we can save lives,” Cooper said Thursday morning.
Reporter Ali Ingersoll, reporter for WRAL News, contributed to this report.