Dare County has moved into Group 5 of the COVID-19 rollout and is now accepting registrations from anyone who is at least 16 years old and would like to be vaccinated, according to a bulletin posted today by the Dare County Dept. of Health and Human Services. Applicants may complete a registration form at www.darenc.com/covidvaccine.
According to today’s bulletin, the DCDHHS will be receiving a “special allotment” of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only one of the three COVID-19 vaccines that has been approved for administration to 16- and 17-year-olds. Anyone under the age of 18 who would like to be vaccinated will need a parent or guardian to accompany him or her to the vaccine clinic.
The DCDHHS advises that it may take one to two weeks before a staff member calls new registrants to schedule vaccine appointments.
Dare County is ahead of Governor Roy Cooper’s statewide vaccine rollout, which does not officially enter Phase or Group 4 until tomorrow. Last week the Governor announced that eligibility for some Group 4 recipients, including people ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions, would begin tomorrow.
The Governor is scheduled to hold a COVID-19 update briefing tomorrow at 2 p.m., at which time he is likely to announce an acceleration of the rollout for vaccine providers like DCDHHS that are prepared to move into Group 5.
As of Sunday, the DCDHHS had fully vaccinated 8,340 people. Another 1,788 people have received their first doses and are awaiting their second.
The Beacon, 3/16/21
The Southern Shores Beacon 