Without promised mass vaccination site, Durham health department lags behind neighbors in giving shots

County Health Director Rod Jenkins said in January that state officials were close to a deal with Fidelity Investments to host a site at Fidelity's campus in Research Triangle Park.

Brenda Howerton, chairwoman of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, said Monday that she doesn't know what is holding up the plan.

"We are disappointed that it hasn’t happened," Howerton said. "We know that it’s not Durham that’s causing it. This is a state issue. ... We would open it up today if we had the vaccine. We just don’t have the vaccine."

Adding together all vaccination sites in Durham County, the state has sent anywhere from 4,000 to 8,000 doses a week to the county over the last month.

Meanwhile, vaccine supply hasn't been a problem for Raleigh or Charlotte, both of which have hosted mass vaccination clinics in recent weeks.

Kody Kinsley, deputy secretary for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said Wednesday that he doesn't know where the promised February date for the proposed site came from, but county officials could open a mass vaccination site any time they want.

"I assume that they have decided collectively as a community to use their own methods to administer those vaccines instead of activating the Fidelity site," Kinsley said. "I don’t know what Durham County and Durham Health Department, like what is their minimum amount that they would take to activate the Fidelity site?"

Jenkins couldn't be reached for comment Monday, but a spokesperson for Fidelity said the company is still in talks about the site and is ready to host one on its property whenever it's approved.

"I just know he keeps trying to get the mass centers opened up, and it hasn’t happened," Howerton said of Jenkins. "I know he is on the phones every day – with the governor, with the DHHS – and trying to find out where is it, what’s going on."

Meanwhile, the Durham County Health Department has also paused scheduling vaccination appointments at its offices.

The department has administered fewer than 6,900 vaccinations to date. Meanwhile, more than 7,400 have been given by the health department in neighboring Orange County, which has a population that is less than half that of Durham County.

Durham County has received some 88,000 vaccine doses to date, Kinsley said, and the health department, Duke University Health System and other providers have provided at least one dose to about 17 percent of local residents, "which is on the much higher end of the spectrum" statewide.

"Durham County overall is doing a great job," he said. "Collectively, Durham County is using their doses as quickly as they’re coming into the county."

Still, some people who live in Durham said they have given up on getting the shot in their hometown.

Breeden said she spent hours on the phone last month trying to get a vaccination appointment at the Durham County Health Department before finally giving up.

"It just made it difficult to understand why it’s so difficult for people in my age category," she said. "A lot of those people don’t have the patience or the knowledge of even staying on the phone as long as I did to wait for an appointment."

Jerry Gershenhorn said he and his wife had to go to Raleigh for their shots after repeated calls to Duke University Health System, UNC Health and the county health department.

"It’s a very difficult thing to vaccinate an entire country," Gershenhorn said. "I think people are doing the best they can."