Earlier this week, North Carolina leaders gave insight into the state's vaccine distribution plan, saying that the first doses of a vaccine would go toward frontline health care workers followed by workers at longterm care facilities. On Thursday (December 3), leaders announced that the second wave of vaccinations will prioritize teachers and school staff across the state.
"It just seems that after health care workers, that our teachers and other school staff would be in line to get the vaccination should they want it," said Jennifer De La Jara, member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education.
According to WCNC, between 1.18. million and 1.57 million people are included in the first group to receive a vaccine. The next people to receive prioritization are additional health care workers, frontline employees with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure, and senior adults with at least one chronic condition.
Gov. Roy Cooper recently announced that the state is set to receive its first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine within the month that will contain nearly 85,000 doses. He anticipates a second shipment sometime in January that would likely contain both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
"As concerning as the numbers are," he said, "I and many other North Carolinians have newfound hope in the development of promising vaccines."
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