The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has released a list of hospital systems that will get the initial shipment of a forthcoming coronavirus vaccine. The list of 11 health care systems includes some of the largest like Duke and UNC, Wake Forest Baptist based in Winston-Salem and Atrium Health in Charlotte. The vaccine will also go to a handful of smaller hospitals in more rural areas across the state.
Here is the complete list of healthcare systems:
- Bladen Healthcare
- Caldwell Memorial Hospital
- CarolinaEast Medical Center
- Catawba Valley Medical Center
- Cumberland County Hospital System Inc.
- Duke University Health System
- Henderson County Hospital Corporation
- Hoke Healthcare LLC
- The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority (Atrium Health)
- University of North Carolina Shared Services
- Wake Forest Baptist Health
State Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen has said the first round of COVID-19 vaccine doses will go to a limited number of hospitals.
Governor Roy Cooper expects about 85,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to arrive as soon as next week. State health officials expect to get weekly shipments after that. The doses will go first to frontline health care workers, then residents of adult care facilities. The vaccine is not likely to be available to the general public for several more months.
Meanwhile, the number of North Carolinians hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to rise. The state Health Department says there are now 2,240 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals. That's nearly double the number of hospitalizations this time last month. The Health Department reported 4,372 new cases of COVID-19 today.
WUNC's Laura Pellicer contributed to this report.