NC widens vaccine eligibility, including some in Group 4. What to know in Charlotte

North Carolinians who are pregnant or who have certain medical conditions are eligible to get vaccinated next week, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Thursday afternoon as he accelerated the timeline for some residents who fall in Group 4.

But in Charlotte, it could be a long shot to get vaccinated on the March 17 start date.

Mecklenburg County Public Health and other providers are grappling with severely limited vaccine supply, exacerbated by a ballooning line — and waitlists — to accommodate those still clamoring for appointments within Groups 1, 2 and 3. Cooper acknowledged not all counties and healthcare providers are ready to make the leap to Group 4 just yet.

“We want them to make sure they’re still meeting the demand in Groups 1 through 3,” Cooper said in a news conference.

“My demand to providers is to get vaccine off of the shelf and into arms before the next shipment gets there,” the governor said later. “And we’re working to make sure that those arms look like the people of North Carolina.”

Group 4 of the state’s vaccination prioritization framework includes residents diagnosed with asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, cystic fibrosis, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, heart conditions, liver disease and sickle cell disease, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Cooper previously said this group could get their shots toward the end of the month. This group includes current and some former smokers, as well.

Earlier Thursday, Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said the county is still immunizing people in the “very large” Group 3, which including daycare workers, teachers, school support staff and some frontline essential workers. For at least the next week, appointments are fully booked through Public Health — and so are community events, Harris said.

Those newly eligible in Group 4, Harris said, will not be asked for proof of an underlying health problem but she stressed that every adult should adhere to “the honor system” and not seek a vaccine appointment until it’s their turn. Cooper said North Carolinians will not need to provide “written proof” of medical conditions to qualify for vaccine appointments.

“Obviously Group 3 hasn’t been opened for long...We’re doing our best to stay focused on that right, but we are going to do everything we can — working with our healthcare partners, as well as the other vaccinators in our community — to make it available to Group 4 as quickly as we can,” Harris said.

‘Eligibility does not equal availability’

Harris said she understands why people with cancer, autoimmune disorders and other chronic illnesses have been lobbying Cooper for an earlier chance to get inoculated and protect themselves from developing serious COVID-19 complications. Yet the rapidly shifting guidance “presents challenges, especially every time (Cooper) puts a stake in the ground and then he moves it,” the health director said.

“But what I will tell you is that this entire year has been challenging, and if nothing else, we’ve had to be flexible and nimble, and we’ll continue to do that as long as we need to,” Harris said.

It is unclear which local providers will have the capacity to begin immunizing Group 4 individuals next week. Novant Health officials say the arrival of single-dose Johnson & Johnson doses has helped but that there’s still scarce supply.

“We support the state’s decision to expand vaccinations to include more of our vulnerable community members, but it’s important to stress that eligibility does not equal availability,” Novant spokeswoman Megan Rivers said in a statement.

“While the arrival of a third vaccine is helping us move more quickly through Groups 2 and 3, we simply do not have the supply to meet current demand.”

Rivers said Novant will work “around-the-clock” to add appointments and pull people from vaccine waitlists. Atrium Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mecklenburg Public Health maintains a waitlist too, with hundreds of people from Group 4 already pre-registered. Dr. Meg Sullivan, the county’ medical director, on Thursday urged people with multiple appointments to cancel duplicates and give other people a chance for precious doses.

Medical conditions in NC vaccine eligibility

According to the state health department, people age 16 and up with the following conditions are at high-risk, based on CDC guidelines. This list shows medical conditions that determine eligibility to be vaccinated beginning March 17.

• Asthma (moderate to severe)
• Cancer
• Cerebrovascular disease or history of stroke
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Diabetes Type 1 or 2
• Heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from: immune deficiencies, HIV, taking chronic steroids or other immune weakening medicines, history of solid organ blood or bone marrow transplant
• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, including Down Syndrome
• Liver disease, including hepatitis
• Neurologic conditions such as dementia and schizophrenia
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Overweight or obesity
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease (not including sickle cell trait) or thalassemia
• Smoking (current or former, defined as having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime)

Under Cooper’s new guidance, people not yet vaccinated who live in congregate settings — such as homeless shelters and jails or correctional facilities — with greater COVID-19 exposure risk can also get shots within the initial phase of Group 4.

The later phase of Group 4 — encompasses essential workers not yet vaccinated — will become eligible on April 7. This includes people in critical manufacturing, education, essential good, food and agriculture, government and community services, health care and public health, and public safety and transportation, according to N.C. DHHS.

Group 5 will open up eligibility to all North Carolinians. The timeline is unclear for now.

About 11% of North Carolinians are fully vaccinated and another 18% are at least partially vaccinated, Cooper said. The percentages are lower in Mecklenburg: Just under 8% of county residents are fully vaccinated and almost 13% are at least partially vaccinated, the latest state health data show.

This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 3:18 PM.