Governor Cooper Visits Vidant Health Vaccine Site in Eastern North Carolina as State Continues To Distribute Vaccines in a Fast and Fair Way | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    GREENVILLE: Today, Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen visited the Vidant Health large-scale vaccine site at the Greenville Convention Center to see people receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Vidant Health has partnered with the Pitt County Public Health Department, local churches and community organizations to vaccinate more than 2,000 people a day and reach North Carolinians in underserved communities.

    "North Carolina continues to get shots into people's arms in a way that's fast and fair," Governor Cooper said. "We're committed to making sure that people getting this vaccine look like the make-up of our population, and outreach efforts like we're seeing today are helping us get there."

    Some members of Group 4 are now eligible to receive the vaccine. This includes people with a medical condition that puts them at higher risk for COVID-19 and those who live in certain congregate settings. The rest of Group 4, which includes non-frontline essential workers and people in additional congregate setting, will be eligible to get the vaccine on April 7.

    "Partnerships like this are vital to reaching underserved communities. Thank you to those on the ground doing the intentional work to make sure all North Carolinians can get their shot," said Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D.

    North Carolina continues to distribute vaccines in a fast and fair way. The state has administered over 3.5 million vaccines. More than 26 percent of adults have had at least one shot, and nearly 17 percent have been fully vaccinated. On Wednesday, the CDC released a report with North Carolina as one of the top ten states in the US for equitable vaccine distribution.

    "Vidant Health appreciates Gov. Cooper visiting the Vidant/Pitt County Large-Scale Vaccine Clinic at the Greenville Convention Center, where we are vaccinating thousands of community members each week. The Large-Scale Vaccine Clinic is a demonstration of the incredible collaboration here in eastern North Carolina between Vidant, Pitt County and East Carolina University. Gov. Cooper understands, as we all do, the importance of partnership and access to high-quality health care in the East," said Vidant Health Chief Executive Officer Michael R. Waldrum, MD, MSc, MBA.

    "COVID-19 has created a degree of cooperation between our agencies that has been beneficial to our community and to our respective agencies. I fully expect this degree of cooperation to continue and to make us stronger in the post COVID-19 era. Every vaccine we give, puts us one step closer to the end of this pandemic," said Pitt County Health Director Dr. John Silvernail, MD, MPH.

    North Carolinians can call the COVID-19 vaccine help center at 888-675-4567 and find nearby vaccine providers using NCDHHS' online tool, Find a Vaccine Location. Learn more about the state's vaccine distribution at HERE (English) or HERE (Spanish).

    To allow for proper distancing and safety protocols, coverage of this event was pooled.

    Video footage of this event will be available for media use HERE.

    Still photos will be available HERE, credit to Deborah Griffin of The Daily Reflector.

• Contact: Ford Porter
•     govpress@nc.gov