Mecklenburg hits major COVID vaccine milestone. Here’s what it means for herd immunity
Mecklenburg County reached a new milestone in vaccinations among residents this week: 50% of county residents have now received at least one COVID-19 shot.
That means more than 549,000 people in Mecklenburg are at least partially vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“It’s an exciting milestone,” Novant Health infectious disease expert Dr. David Priest told reporters in late June about the upcoming landmark. “It’s not where we want to be yet, but it just is a real tribute to the efforts of health care professionals and community members to get vaccinated.”
Wake, Durham, Orange, Buncombe and New Hanover counties all surpassed the 50% mark before Mecklenburg. No other North Carolina county has reached that milestone yet.
Meanwhile, only Wake County has surpassed Mecklenburg in the sheer number of residents vaccinated, with more than 655,000 residents vaccinated as of Monday.
A huge proportion of adults age 65 and older in North Carolina are already vaccinated, exciting news that has led to fewer cases and hospital admissions among that age group, Priest said.
As of last Tuesday, 82% of adults in that age group are at least partially vaccinated.
Herd immunity in NC?
The state is moving in the right direction, Priest said. But reaching a point of herd immunity — where the spread of the virus is slowed so thoroughly that COVID-19 goes away — is unlikely, he said.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Priest said. “I think we will have COVID in our communities for the foreseeable future, if not forever.”
COVID-19 likely won’t disappear, he said. But with continued vaccinations, the spread of the virus may resemble a yearly flu season.
And Priest hopes many unvaccinated people will begin getting the shot once the COVID-19 vaccines are fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Right now, the three COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson) are authorized for emergency use by the FDA.
“That will help us drive vaccinations and remove some of that hesitancy we’ve seen for the last few months,” he said.
Mecklenburg stalled at 49% of residents partially vaccinated for at least a week before crossing the halfway mark.
Forsyth and Guilford counties are reporting vaccinations at a similar rate to Mecklenburg, reporting 48% and 49% of residents at least partially vaccinated as of Monday, respectively.
NC incentives for COVID shots
The state has launched several vaccine incentive programs in recent weeks to combat hesitancy around the shot, including offers of $25 gift cards for shot recipients and those who drive others to get the shot.
And the state has already held two drawings for its million-dollar lottery for vaccine recipients. Those drawings will continue every other Wednesday until Aug. 4.
Anyone who gets vaccinated is automatically entered into the drawing.
And people who gets the shot June 10 or later will get two entries into each lottery.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 12:41 PM.
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