Thousands of doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine coming to Mecklenburg this week
Thousands of doses of the newest COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Mecklenburg County later this week, county officials said Monday.
The county expects to receive 10,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received an emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday.
The state Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday it expects more than 80,000 doses of the newly authorized vaccine to arrive in North Carolina beginning on Wednesday.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, requires only one injection.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two injections, spaced weeks apart, to reach maximum protection.
“Having a third safe and effective vaccine will help vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible,” Mecklenburg County officials said in a statement Monday.
Neither of Charlotte’s hospital systems, Atrium Health and Novant Health, have said how many doses of the new vaccine they expect to receive.
Local COVID-19 trends
The news of increased access to COVID-19 vaccines in the Charlotte area comes as coronavirus trends continue to move in the right direction.
The seven-day average of new daily COVID-19 cases in Mecklenburg County is at its lowest point since mid-November. And the seven day average of the county’s testing positivity rate has fallen to 5.6%, the lowest positiviy rate in Mecklenburg since mid-October.
Mecklenburg residents can find more information on the COVID-19 vaccine at www.MeckNC.gov/COVID-19 or by calling the Public Health COVID-19 hotline at 980-314-9400.
