Duke physician: Sign up in more spots for vaccination to improve chances for quicker shot

Lee County was the first area county to begin allowing people in Group 4 of the state's vaccine priority list to register for vaccinations.

By about 10 a.m., the county IT staff had to shut down the vaccine call center and establish a new number. Less then three hours later, county officials suspended registrations altogether because of limited vaccine supply.

"The Health Department has vaccine supply available to complete all currently scheduled vaccine clinics. New registrations will not be accepted until additional vaccines have been secured," officials said in a news release.

County spokesman Jamie Brown said opening up registration to people in Group 4 was merely a matter of maintaining a healthy waiting list for vaccinations.

"Like many other local health departments across the state, we are running into last-minute cancellations and no-shows at our vaccine clinics as individuals make multiple appointments with the hope of receiving the vaccine faster," county spokesman Jamie Brown said in an email to WRAL News. "While we understand the desire to be vaccinated as quickly as possible, this has created a bit of a logistical issue for the health department as we plan for our clinics."

Locations, phone numbers to get your COVID shot in central NC

Dr. John Anderson, chief medical officer for Duke Primary Care, said making multiple appointments is the best option for people seeking faster vaccination.

"It always helps to be proactive in that regard," Anderson said, recommending that people check with their primary care doctors, county health departments and providers like the Duke University Health System.

"A lot of the smaller practices may not be able to administer the vaccine, but they can at least direct patients where to go," he said.

North Carolina providers have administered more than 2.8 million vaccinations to date, with 10.3 percent of state residents fully vaccinated.

Duke Primary Care plans to open its first drive-thru vaccination clinic Tuesday at 5601 Arringdon Park Drive in Morrisville for people on the Duke Health waiting list.

"We would like to be able to give around 500 a day to start with," Anderson said. "As we get this ramped up and get better at it, that number may be able to go up."

The clinic will provide the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which Anderson said works better in a drive-thru format because it requires less patient monitoring after the shot than either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccines.

Another option: A mass vaccination site run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency opens outside a Greensboro mall on Wednesday, with plans to administer up to 21,000 shots a week over the next eight weeks.

List: Who's in what group in NC's vaccination priority list

Durham resident Michael Palmer, who already is vaccinated, said word of mouth is a good way to find the quickest shot.

"Most of us, in our network of relationships, particularly Baby Boomers like myself, we have friends who have gotten shots. So, within that network of information, there’s a lot of resources," Palmer said.

Thomas Murray, who isn't yet vaccinated, agreed.

"I think with how word of mouth is traveling, I feel like, once you have some friends who already know about it, plus with everyone helping each other out, I don’t think it should be too big of an issue," Murray said.

Duke Health likely won't start vaccinating anyone in Group 4 before March 24, which is the eligibility date state officials set last week, Anderson said.

Brown said Lee County likewise won't actually start vaccinating anyone in that group until "later this month." A Facebook post from the county said that could be as early as March 17, depending on vaccine availability.

Other area county health departments and providers said they have no plans to vaccinate Group 4 members before March 24.

"We are following the state guidelines and will begin registering people in Group 4 on March 24," Orange County spokesman Tod McGee said in an email. "This doesn’t mean we’ll have vaccines for them. People in Groups 2 and 3 will still be ahead of them in line."

"We are currently still working through our waitlist to vaccinate the individuals in Groups 1 through 3 who are on our waitlist. In the coming weeks, we plan to evaluate our waiting list and will expand to additional groups when able," Harnett County spokeswoman Ashley Deans Bauer said in an email.

People don't have to get vaccinated in the same county they live in, according to the state.