Brunswick County asks governor’s office for more COVID vaccines

BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — In a matter of minutes, 6,000 people called Brunswick County trying to schedule an appointment for the COVID vaccine.

The county only had 100 doses available, and since the elderly in the county account for one-third of the population, commissioners hope the state can offer more assistance.

“I think a lot of people knew that this situation was down the road and was coming,” Brunswick Commission Chairman Randy Thompson said. “I just don’t know that the distribution plan adequately addresses our current state.”

Thompson has become concerned over the past few weeks with the lack of vaccines being provided to the county. While Thompson acknowledges the complexity of vaccine distribution, he also believes that more needs to be done to address the senior population in Brunswick County.

“When you have thousands of residents that fall in the categories that need to be vaccinated and you’re only receiving hundreds of doses at a time, your equation is going to be way off,” Thompson said. 

In a letter sent to governor Roy Cooper on Friday, Thompson expressed his shared frustration with other Brunswick County residents over the lack of vaccines currently available.

“We need the governor’s office to lobby for us to ensure we get the doses necessary to address the age group population currently,” Thompson added. 

Thompson says he understands state leaders have been working hard to meet the needs of everyone. But he is afraid that Brunswick County will be unable to move on to the next phase of vaccinations with the rest of the state.

“I do hope in the coming days though, that they’re able to reach some type of an agreement so that our vaccine doses increases and we’re not looking at the delivery of hundreds of viles of vaccines,” Thompson said. “But we’re looking for the delivery of thousands to our county. That’s change that needs to happen for us to be successful with following the plan that has been outlined for us.”