As Wake's vaccine supply dwindles, wait list for shots grows

This week, the county will vaccinate 5,000 people at its two clinics, which have the space and staff to give 10,000 shots a week.

"Every vaccine [dose] we receive goes into an arm almost immediately," said Matt Calabria, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners.

But the number of arms far outweighs the number of doses on hand. This week, Wake County requested 4,000 doses, but the state sent only 975.

“We simply do not have enough vaccines coming into the state or coming into Wake County," Calabria said.

More than 74,300 health care workers and seniors have signed up for vaccinations in the county, but officials have been able to schedule fewer than 7,000 appointments, meaning more than 67,300 people are on a waiting list.

"We don’t have a lot of appointments for next week and the weeks coming out because we are trying to ensure that we don’t have to cancel appointments," said Ryan Jury, who oversees logistics for the county's vaccination effort.

“We have your names. We know that you want vaccination," Jury said of those on the waiting list, asking for their patience but making no promises on when they might get their shots.

County officials hope that next week’s vaccine shipment will be the biggest yet, as state health officials start allocating vaccine based on population. Counties and hospitals also are guaranteed the same number of doses for at least three weeks.

"I haven’t seen the numbers yet, but we could make the assumption that more doses may find themselves into Wake County as we have a higher number of eligible people for vaccination," Jury said.

The county has requested 10,000 first doses for next week, he said.

Wake County has opted for vaccination appointments so far so the people at highest risk from coronavirus can receive priority. But Calabria said officials are working on a plan for a high-capacity drive-thru vaccination clinic when the supply expands.

"Whether you have one site or 100 sites, if you have the same number of vaccines and you’re going through them as quickly as you possibly can, the total rate of vaccination doesn’t change," he said.

Other counties have similar supply-demand issues.

"Every day that we aren’t able get more shots in arms is a problem," Bruce Robistow, Halifax County health director, said Wednesday.

Robistow has the manpower to vaccinate people but doesn't have the supply to keep up with the number of people waiting in line for shots.

"When we issue out our last [vaccination] card, there are hundreds of cars behind them, and they’ve been waiting for hours," he said.

Halifax County has only 390 doses left before it runs out. But the situation is worse in Orange County, where they have no doses to give out.

"We haven’t gotten any new first doses in the last three weeks," county spokesman Todd McGee said.

Gov. Roy Cooper addressed the vaccine shortage during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

"I’ve heard and I know this is maddening and frustrating for many of you," Cooper said. "It will get better as the state gets more vaccine and more providers giving it out."

North Carolina has been getting 120,000 doses a week from the federal government, but President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that shipments will be increased by 16 percent for at least the next three weeks.

Even as state officials dedicate more doses to larger counties, a portion will be reserved for minority communities, rural areas and places like Orange County where it's needed most.

"Halifax is relatively small. We have roughly 52,000 residents, and the state also said that they are also going to consider those that are in rural areas, which we are," Robistow said. "We’ll make it work with whatever vaccines. We just need more than what we get."