The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines will begin this week at WCU.
The director of WCU’s regional COVID-19 vaccine clinic, Cortnee Lingerfelt, said for The Sylva Herald, that the state has been allotted 600 Moderna vaccines.
“We’ll do 150 on Thursday, 250 on Friday and 200 on Monday,” Lingerfelt said.
In the first two to three weeks the clinic was expected to only be open for patients that were from the Jackson County Department of Public Health to help reduce the overflow of vaccinations that they were receiving. However, during the first week they were able to reduce the overflow of patients and can now make new appointments. The clinic is open to make appointments only with Group 1 and 2 being the primary focus and the first phase of Group 3.
The vaccination clinic is located on the ground floor of the Health and Human Sciences building on the WCU campus. Vaccinations are open by appointment only. The public can visit vaccine.wcu.edu to learn more and make appointments.
WCU and Southwestern Community College signed a collaboration agreement to allow SCC nursing students to work at the clinic. WCU is hoping that these students will be able to start working by March 8.
According to Jennifer Davies assistant to the director/clinic manager at WCU, the first shipment of vaccines was expected to arrive the week of Feb. 15 but due to icy and inclement weather, the vaccines arrived on Feb. 22. Vaccine distribution “will start this week- Thursday, Friday and Monday with distributing our first round of vaccines,” Davies said in an email.
As of Feb. 24, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has announced that people who are in Group 3 of vaccine distribution will now be allowed to receive the vaccine. Group 3 entails frontline workers such as childcare and pre-K-12.
Related content: US, North Carolina Must Prioritize and Address Vaccine Hesitancy (Opinion from WCU Health and Human Sciences professors)
