‘More lives saved.’ Wake County to receive nearly 4,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

The Wake County health department will receive 3,900 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this coming week — a four-fold increase from the prior week, according to Wake County officials.

The county had previously been allocated 975 first doses of the vaccine, which requires two doses spaced about a month apart to reach full effectiveness.

Johnna Sharpe, the chief operating officer of Wake County, told The News & Observer Saturday that the increased allocation was consistent with new state guidelines that take population into greater account in distributing the vaccine.

Wake County is the largest county by population in the state.

Matt Calabria, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, said he was “elated” when he heard the news.

“More doses means more vaccinations, and ultimately, that means more lives saved,” he said.

Wake County currently shows “substantial” community spread, according to the DHHS county alert system. Since the pandemic began in March, 427 people in the county have died due to the virus.

Vaccine distribution has been underway across the state, with revamped efforts in the past week elevating North Carolina’s national standing. After weeks of lagging behind on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s ranking of states by first doses distributed per 100,000 residents, the state shot up from 40th to 22nd, The News & Observer reported Friday.

In Wake County, 66,194 first doses had been administered as of Thursday, according to the most recently available DHHS data; 12,655 second doses have been administered in the county.

Other health providers in the county are set to receive an additional 10,850 doses in the coming week, according to data shared with The N&O by Wake County. The doses will be allocated across the county’s hospitals and pharmacies.

“This is undoubtedly good news,” Calabria said. “But we have to remember that it’s going to be a long slog.”

He added that roughly 180,000 people qualify for the vaccine under the current state guidelines — a group that includes health care workers and individuals age 65 or older.

“The reality is supply and demand is going to continue to govern our response to this crisis, and how quickly we come out of it,” he said. “There’s just a shortage of vaccines nationwide — and we are all doing the best we can to grapple with that.”