North Carolina falling behind on some vaccination metrics

More than 7% of North Carolinians are partially vaccinated and almost 11% are fully protected from COVID-19.

WRAL Data Trackers are keeping a close watch on doses administered by total amount and also per capita. The state has fluctuated on the list released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, set expectations for North Carolina in an interview with WRAL back in early February.

"For the ninth-largest state [in population], we should be ninth on the list for all things if we’re getting our doses out every week," Cohen said.

North Carolina currently sits in 8th place for total number of doses administered, according to CDC data.

But the state misses the mark for several other metrics.

North Carolina’s per capita vaccination administration rate is 27,738 for every 100,000, according to CDC data. That factor lands the state near the bottom of the list. There are only 14 states which rank lower.

North Carolina's delivery rate per capita is also lower than its rank in population.

The federal government distributes doses based off a state’s need, as well as its population of adults 18 and older.

"At the end of last week, North Carolina received over 80,000 one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccines, and our providers are continuing to work to get these shots into arms," Catie Armstrong, a DHHS spokeswoman, said in an email.

However, the state's delivery rate per capita puts North Carolina in the bottom 10 in the country.

While the state has fallen behind on those rates, it is above the national average for vaccination administration rate per amount received. The current national percentage sits at 77% while North Carolina is at 78%.

Armstrong emphasizes that the state can only administer as many doses as it's allotted each week, saying, "North Carolina continues to exhaust its vaccine supply each week. Our vaccine supply continues to improve, and our providers are stepping up to the plate to ensure that vaccine are administered quickly and equitably."