Governor Cooper Visits Federally-Supported Community Vaccination Center on Opening Day | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    GREENSBORO: Today, Governor Roy Cooper visited the Federally-Supported Vaccination Center in Greensboro on its opening day. This COVID-19 community vaccination site is operating out of the Four Seasons Town Centre for the next eight weeks with options for drive-thru service in the parking lot and walk-in service.

    "I am grateful for the collaboration among federal, state and local officials that have worked so hard to make this happen," Governor Cooper said. "We want to continue our vaccine distribution in a way that's fast and fair, and this center is helping us reach that goal."

    The community vaccination center is operating seven days per week and providing up to 3,000 vaccinations per day. The federal government is providing the center's vaccine supply, which will be in addition to North Carolina's weekly allotment from the Centers for Disease Control.

    The vaccination center is strategically located to support the state's goal of getting vaccines to historically marginalized and underserved communities and will have additional sites and mobile vaccination clinics in surrounding counties.

    North Carolina has continued to emphasize equity in the vaccine distribution process. In the last four weeks, more than 20 percent of the state's first doses have been administered to Black North Carolinians. On Sunday, Bloomberg News recognized North Carolina as the leader in the nation for reporting demographic data on who has been vaccinated down to the county level.

    North Carolina is continuing to make more data publicly available. Yesterday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services expanded its vaccine data dashboard to provide more demographic data on people who are partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Users will be able to see vaccinations by race, ethnicity, gender and age group by county, by week and since vaccinations began.

    "This is a great day for North Carolinians, and we are thrilled to be part of opening this vaccination center in Greensboro. Our strong partnership with the state and the community at all levels of government made this possible," said Gracia Szczech, regional administrator for FEMA Region IV. "We are committed to the equitable distribution of the vaccine and our top priority is to ensure everyone who wants a vaccine gets one."

    More than 1.1 million North Carolinians have been fully vaccinated as the state works with local health departments and providers to distribute this vaccine quickly and equitably. While supply is still limited, the increased federal allocation of doses will help providers administer vaccines to more people.

    Frontline essential workers in Group 3 are currently eligible to get their vaccine. Some members of Group 4 will become eligible next starting with people with health conditions that make them at high-risk for severe COVID-19 illness and people in some congregate living settings.

    North Carolinians can find vaccine providers in their community through the NCDHHS online tool, Find a Vaccine Location. The COVID-19 vaccine help center is available to answer vaccine questions 888-675-4567. Learn more about the state's vaccine distribution HERE.

    To allow for proper distancing and safety protocols, coverage of this event was pooled.

    Video footage of this event will be available for media use HERE and HERE.

    Still photos will be available HERE, credit to Walt Unks of the Winston-Salem Journal.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov