Who will get COVID-19 vaccines first in Charlotte? Here are answers to FAQ.

As COVID-19 vaccine developers edge closer to FDA approval, Charlotte-area hospitals are getting prepared — and it’s possible vaccine distribution could start this year.

On Nov. 20, Pfizer Inc. and partner company BioNTech submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization, reporting their COVID-19 vaccine is 95% effective at preventing COVID-19 among participants.

And biotechnology company Moderna filed for approval on Nov. 30.

Emergency Use Authorizations let the FDA allow for the use of unapproved medical treatments, speeding up the vaccine approval process.

Here’s what is known so far about COVID-19 vaccines becoming available in Charlotte.

Which hospitals will get COVID-19 vaccines first?

In December, the state Department of Health and Human Services released a list of 11 facilities that will receive doses from the first shipment of vaccines available in North Carolina. The state expects to receive 85,000 vaccines in the first shipment.

Charlotte’s largest hospital system, Atrium Health, is on the list of facilities receiving early shipments of vaccines. The other facilities on the list are:

Bladen Healthcare LLC (Bladen County Hospital) Caldwell Memorial Hospital CarolinaEast Medical Center Catawba Valley Medical Center Cumberland County Hospital System Inc (Cape Fear Valley Health System) Duke University Health System Henderson County Hospital Corporation (Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital) Hoke Healthcare LLC (Hoke Hospital) University of North Carolina Shared Services Agreement

Wake Forest Baptist Health

Where will the vaccine be in Charlotte?

Both of Charlotte’s major hospital systems, Atrium Health and Novant Health, are gearing up to provide COVID-19 vaccines as soon as vaccines are distributed locally.

Once vaccines are approved by the FDA and ready to ship, the state will receive a certain amount of vaccines and begin distributing to local health departments and approved providers.

The state has already approved Mecklenburg County hospitals as vaccine providers, state DHHS spokeswoman Kelly Haight Connor told the Charlotte Observer in a statement.

As vaccines become more widely distributed, it’s possible more Charlotte-area health care providers could begin offering COVID-19 vaccines.

How much will a COVID-19 vaccine cost?

Any Charlotte-area health providers who receive vaccines from the state through the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan must agree to provide the vaccine at no cost to the patient, according to the DHHS spokeswoman.

Patients with insurance could still see administration costs billed to their insurance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When a COVID-19 vaccine is ready, here’s how it will be distributed in North Carolina

When can I get vaccinated in North Carolina?

The state has outlined a phased plan for vaccine distribution among North Carolinians, prioritizing health care workers and people at highest risk for developing severe complications from COVID-19.

During Phase 1a, which will focus on vaccinating health care workers and medical first responders, the state expects to vaccinate roughly 140,000 to 161,000 people, according to the state vaccination plan.

Residents and staff in long-term care settings, adults with more than one chronic condition, and people older than 65 in congregate living settings, like jails and homeless shelters, will be prioritized for vaccination in Phase 1b, according to the plan. In that phase, the state expects to vaccinate around 727,000 to 951,000 people.

Phase 2 of the vaccination distribution plan will focus on people in congregate living settings who are younger than 65, health care workers not included in the first phase, frontline workers at high risk for exposure or who have chronic health conditions, as well as adults with chronic conditions and people older than 65. The state expects to vaccinate up to 1.18 to 1.57 million people in that phase.

Many children will be eligible to receive a vaccine during Phase 3. In Phase 3, the state could vaccinate roughly 574,000 to 767,000 people, including remaining frontline workers and workers in critical industries, as well as K-12 and college students.

The rest of the population of North Carolina will be included in Phase 4, which could involve vaccinating 3.6 to 4 million people.

New COVID-19 alert system says Mecklenburg is ‘yellow.’ Here’s what that means.

How many vaccines will be available?

Pfizer has said it expects to produce up to 50 million vaccine doses globally in 2020, and up to 1.3 billion by the end of 2021. And Moderna expects to have roughly 20 million vaccine doses ready to ship in the U.S. by the end of this year.

It’s not clear how many vaccines could be distributed to North Carolina this year.

How many doses will I need?

Both the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine require two doses. But each company’s vaccine is on a different timeline.

The second dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be given three weeks after the first — Moderna’s two doses are spaced four weeks apart.

Are the vaccines safe?

No serious safety concerns have been noted during either vaccines’ development.

Atrium infectious disease expert Dr. Lewis McCurdy said patients could see some minor side effects from the vaccine, mostly related to the injection process, like pain or fever.

Moderna has reported some participants have experienced some pain at the injection site and Pfizer has reported some participants reported some fatigue or headaches after the injection.

Why do Charlotte hospitals need special freezers?

Both Novant and Atrium have purchased refrigeration units to store the Pfizer vaccine. That’s because the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at extremely low temperatures — between minus 70 to minus 80 degrees Celsius.

Atrium has purchased refrigeration units that could hold up to 300,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, Atrium CEO Gene Woods has said.

And Novant has purchased enough ultra-low temperature freezers to store about 180,000 doses, Novant’s Chief Pharmacy Officer Becky Bean told the Observer.

The low temperatures needed to store the Pfizer vaccine could make distribution of the vaccine difficult. But both Novant and Atrium say they will be able to transport the vaccine locally using dry ice.

The Moderna vaccine doesn’t require the same ultra-low temperatures as the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna vaccine can be kept in long-term storage at minus 20 degrees Celcius.

Still have COVID-19 vaccine questions? Send them to hsmoot@charlotteoberver.com.

By Charlotte and Mecklenburg ZIP codes, this new map charts COVID-19 positivity rates