More than 700 people receive first dose of vaccine at Wilkes Clinic on Thursday | COVID-19

The Wilkes County Health Department administered all of the Moderna vaccines received this week to 713 people in about five hours at the Drive-Through COVID-19 Clinic in Rose Park, Rivers Edge, Wilkesboro, Thursday.

According to Wilkes Health Director Rachel Willard, vaccinations in first-come-first-served clinics began approximately 10 minutes before the announcement of 10 am.

However, on the NC 268 West electronic bulletin board, the vaccine became unavailable after around 8:30 am, after the number of people in the shot line seemed to be the same as the vaccine at hand. Was announced.

This was determined by giving numbered cards to those who were qualified at the time of screening while waiting in a row of four parallel vehicles on the old airport runway section of Industrial Drive.

James Summers, Deputy Secretary of the Sheriff’s Office, Wilkes, who helped with the clinic’s logistics, said that about 90 doses of vaccine remained in far fewer vehicles than were in line. According to Summers, this was posted on Facebook, and soon enough people lined up to avoid the rest of the dose.

Ethel Brown and her husband, Kenneth Brown, who live on German Town Road in Moravian Falls, first lined up after arriving Thursday at 2:30 am.

“I was going to get the vaccine if I didn’t wait overnight,” Brown said, adding that he was the type of person who did what he needed to achieve his goals. Brown, almost 76 years old, said health problems made the vaccine particularly important to her.

“I just hope everyone is shot and it’s gone (COVID-19),” she added.

Kenneth Brown was not vaccinated on Thursday. He was 70 years old and only those over 75 years old were qualified. Or care facility staff and residents.

However, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccination program was revised on Thursday to allow immediate vaccination of people over the age of 65 instead of over 75. It was not known on Friday whether the Wilkes Health Department would incorporate this extension into the clinic next week.

Lovett Taylor of the Little Brassie Mountain Community, who lined up second on Thursday, said he arrived at midnight and didn’t know where to park. He drove the runway of the old airport and stayed near Loews Park on the River’s Edge sign at the entrance to Western Park until he pulled behind the Browns around 3:30 am.

Taylor, who turns 77 in March, said his lack of flu in the year he was vaccinated against the flu influenced his decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19. He mentioned the challenges at insurance companies and stated that his goal was to be 100 years old to bully them.

Taylor said his wife was also old enough to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but wanted to wait for others to react to it before receiving the vaccine.

Brown, Taylor and others who were vaccinated on Thursday were also given a card urging them to get a second Modana vaccine within 28 days.

A second dose of Moderna vaccine, such as Pfizer vaccine, is required to achieve a maximum effect of approximately 95%.

According to the company’s website, the Wilkes Health Department plans to book vaccinations for those who received their first vaccination with the Moderna vaccine on December 22nd and 23rd. It states that 50 reservations are possible for the second vaccination daily from 11:30 am. From Tuesday, January 19th to Friday, January 22nd, 7:00 pm.

Please call 336-651-7569 to make an appointment. The website said these are the only scheduled appointments currently accepted.

The website also states that the health department is “considering holding another clinic on Thursday, January 21st,” clearly mentioning the clinic for the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.

The website did not say where these clinics would be held. The Ministry of Health expects to receive 300 vaccinations next week, and said details will be posted later.

Wilkes Journal-Patriot received a call from Wilkes residents and called the Catawba County Health Department on Friday because he did not want to leave early in the morning and wait in line for hours at the Wilkes Health Department’s vaccination clinic. And on January 28th I got a promise to get his first Moderna vaccine.

The man said he received the first dose of the modelna vaccine from the Sally County Health Department after his wife registered online with the Sally County Health Department and was later called on a scheduled date and time.