Thread by @JoeBrunoWSOC9

Thread: I spoke to Gibbie Harris today about Mecklenburg County's vaccination rate. Mecklenburg County is lagging behind several neighboring counties right now.

Here is a look at the data, per NCDHHS

Full vaccinations:
Meck- 10.5%
Union- 11.1%
Gaston- 11.6%
Lincoln- 12.2%
Iredell- 12.3%

Wake- 13.7%

Partial:
Meck- 16.8%
Union- 16.6%
Gaston- 17.4%
Lincoln- 18.3%
Iredell- 17.5%

Wake- 22.5%

Yet vaccine demand is still incredibly high in Mecklenburg County. As you can tell from my tweets, open appointments in Charlotte go within minutes, not hours. Like last week when 650 shots in less than 5 minutes.

To find open appointments, Mecklenburg County residents have been traveling to other counties to get shots- that's perfectly fine! If you are able to get to another county to get a shot, that's great. Health Director Gibbie Harris says go for it.

According to Harris, there are a few reasons why Meck is trailing.

First- we had a slow start. Meck held mass vax events early when the vax wasn't widely available. Lots of folks came here to get a shot. You get credit for your residents vaccinated, not the people you vaccinate

Health Director Gibbie Harris also says NCDHHS has been prioritizing vaccine distribution in the central part of the state. According to Harris, that is about to change and the state is now going to focus on counties with lower vaccination rates.

Harris also tells me Mecklenburg is just now starting to see increases in the amount of doses heading here each week. It will take a few weeks for the data to reflect the increase of vaccine in our community.

It's also important to note, Meck, the two hospital systems and the county's vaccine providers, do not let any vaccines sit. No waste. If they get a shot, they find an arm to put it in. This is reported to the state each week. On Thursdays, they find out how many doses are coming

Here's the full story: wsoctv.com/news/local/mec…