Gov. Cooper opens vaccinations to some members of Group 4 starting next week

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY/WTVD) — A week earlier expected, North Carolinians with chronic conditions and those living in congregate settings will be able get vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19.

During a news conference Thursday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced the state would move into vaccination group 4.1 on March 17. Previously, the governor had said the state was expected to move into the phase on March 24.

Cooper added that all other personnel in Group 4, including essential workers not yet vaccinated, will be able to get their shots beginning April 7. That list includes people that work in chemical plants, retail workers, hotel employees, communications and information technology employees, people who work on national security systems, energy workers, people who work in financial services, people who work with hazardous materials, employees in laundromats and sanitation workers, public works employees, housing and real estate employees, and water and wastewater treatment staff.

Last week, North Carolina received more than 300,000 first doses of vaccines, including 83,000 doses of the newly authorized Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This week, however, the state received no new doses of the one-shot vaccine, and NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said the state will not see a significant amount until April.

Earlier this month, the state also exceeded expectations and opened vaccinations to all frontline essential workers a week earlier than expected on March 3. Since then, at least 525,000 people have been vaccinated statewide.

An estimated 3.8 million North Carolinians under the age of 65 have underlying conditions. While some of those people have already been vaccinated as residents in longterm care facilities and frontline essential workers, many more will now be added to the vaccine pool — far exceeding the number of available doses in the state.

The new guidance will also allow incarcerated people and people living in homeless shelters and migrant worker camps to get vaccinated.

Still, Cooper and Cohen remain confident that vaccinations will continue at current pace, with approximately 225,000 first doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines sent to providers statewide each week. That’s in addition to the new FEMA vaccination site in Greensboro this week and the state’s partnership with the federal retail pharmacy program, neither of which use vaccines from the state’s allocation.

Click here for more information on Group 4 eligibility.