County preps for essential-worker vaccines

Feb. 25—GUILFORD COUNTY — Guilford County is preparing to vaccinate up to 15,000 educators while looking ahead toward many more vaccinations for frontline essential workers in Group 3.

The county has been working with Guilford County Schools and area charter schools and day cares to assist workers with making appointments and make sure it's a smooth and simple process, said Dr. Iulia Vann, director of the Guilford County Division of Public Health.

Additional signage at vaccine sites also will help ease educators through the process, Guilford County Emergency Management Director Don Campbell said.

Campbell said the 4,680 doses that have been allocated the county this week will be used entirely for educators.

Campbell said the county will transfer 1,500 of its doses to Cone Health so it can administer vaccines in conjunction with the county at the Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday.

"We're looking forward to a large day of educators on Saturday," Campbell said, adding that numerous second-dose clinics are scheduled for the following Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Private health care facilities, pharmacies and other providers will continue to focus on vaccines for the 65-and-older population.

A total of 56,553 Guilford County residents (about 10.5% of the population) had received a first dose of the vaccine while 28,785 residents (about 5.36% of the population) had received both first and second doses by Wednesday, Campbell said.

"Those numbers continue to climb," Campbell said.

The county will continue to make additional appointments available, based on its allocation of doses from the state, Campbell said.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services also is providing the county with information to help prepare for Guilford's estimated 78,000 frontline essential workers who become eligible for vaccines on March 10, Vann said.

"We know we have a lot of groups that will fall in the frontline essential workers category," Vann said.

Vann said she doesn't expect to have all educators and child-care workers and residents in the 65-and-older category vaccinated by March 10 when frontline workers become eligible.

"We will continue our efforts to continue to vaccinate these groups," she said. "Also our efforts for the equitable distribution of the vaccine in our historically marginalized populations is not going to change."

Frontline essential workers include grocery store and other food-supply-chain workers, restaurant workers, those working in critical manufacturing sectors, government and community service workers, elected officials, law enforcement, transportation, Department of Motor Vehicle workers and workers supporting highway infrastructure.

The county recently launched a campaign to make sure business owners can find information and print out materials to post around their locations to help keep their employees safe, Vann said. To access the link to the business compliance education site, visit healthyguilford.biz/

cingram@hpenews.com — 336-888-3534 — @HPEcinde