Gov. Cooper mobilizes NC National Guard to help with COVID-19 vaccination efforts

January 5, 2021

WWAY News,

NORTH CAROLINA (WWAY/WTVD) — Gov. Roy Cooper is mobilizing the National Guard to help with North Carolina’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Ensuring COVID-19 vaccines are administered quickly is our top priority right now. We will use all resources and personnel needed. I’ve mobilized the NC National Guard to provide support to local health providers as we continue to increase the pace of vaccinations. – RC

— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) January 5, 2021

Cooper tweeted that getting the vaccines administered quickly is the state’s top priority. He said utilizing the National Guard will help local health providers increase the pace of vaccinations.

That message comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the state had one of the worst vaccination rates in the country.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported that 109,799 people have received the first dose of the vaccine so far in the state.

That number may be underreported because there could be up to a 72-hour lag in reporting.

That number also doesn’t include the 165,990 doses that have been allocated for long-term care facilities. As of Jan. 4, CVS and Walgreens reported to NCDHHS that there were 13,338 doses administered through the federal program to long-term care facilities in NC.