Public and private entities work to expedite the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine. Photo courtesy of the Province of British Columbia.

Before you go …

If you like what you are reading and believe in independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism like ours—journalism the way it should be—please contribute to keep us going. Reporting like this isn’t free to produce and we cannot do this alone. Thank you!

The COVID-19 vaccine is now just over one month into its roll out in North Carolina and the rest of the country, and it has not been without hiccups.
Thomas Denny, chief operating officer of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute; Dr. David Ellis, chief medical officer of Pardee Hospital; and Dr. Mark McClellan, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration talk with host Stephanie Carson on where things stand in the state, and how they might improve.

This month, vaccination teams from CVS and Walgreens are traveling throughout the state to inoculate residents and staff at long-term care facilities, guided by the federal government.

Each location will be visited three times, roughly once per month, until all who want the vaccine receive a series of two shots. Research indicates the Moderna vaccine, like others on the market, is around 95% effective if both shots are taken.

About one-third of the COVID-19 vaccine doses sent to North Carolina have been administered to eligible individuals. Local health departments are working to schedule individuals who are 75 years old or older as well as frontline health care workers.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may republish our stories for free, online or in print. Simply copy and paste the article contents from the box below. Note, some images and interactive features may not be included here.

Stephanie Carson is the former news and community partnerships manager at Carolina Public Press.

Join the Conversation

1 Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Ms. Carson:

    Thank you for The Kicker, especially Program 62. I found the program, timely, informative, and well produced. Your work is much appreciated.