Last Updated on January 7, 2021 5:45 am
[Boone, NC] – We have launched a COVID-19 vaccine interest form for anyone interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Anyone can fill out the form regardless of which phase they will fit into.
The interest form will provide us basic information about someone in order to determine which phase they will fall in. If someone is eligible for the vaccine in the current phase and has provided a valid email and phone number, they will receive a link to schedule an appointment. If someone is eligible for the vaccine outside the current phase, their information will be collected and will receive notification when it is their turn to get the vaccine. The information someone provides will be kept private and secure. We will not ask for any personal information like credit cards, passwords, social security numbers, etc. The form can be found on our website here.
“We are excited to announce the vaccine interest form and provide a way for people to take action and express their interest in the vaccine. We have heard from individuals in our community who are eager to receive the vaccine and they would like a way to provide their information. We are hopeful this will help us organize and coordinate our efforts to distribute the vaccine according to the outlined phases. We encourage everyone to be patient with us as we work through the phases and distribute the vaccine to those who are eligible within the current phase. Everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get it. There is a spot for you when it’s your turn,” stated Jennifer Greene, Health Director, AppHealthCare.
Due to limited supplies, the COVID-19 vaccine will be rolling out in phases and will be given to those who are most at risk first. We are currently in Phase 1a which means frontline healthcare workers who are at higher risk of COVID-19 exposure and those who are working and living in long term care facilities and group homes are eligible for the vaccine. This week we are focusing on Phase 1a and will be offering vaccines on Thursday and Friday to those long term care facilities who did not sign up with the federal CVS and Walgreens partnership. We will also offer the vaccine to group homes in our counties at the end of this week.
We will be in close communication with the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services (NC DHHS) to determine when we are ready to move into the next phase. We anticipate moving into phase 1b group 1 the week of January 11th for those who are 75 years or older regardless of health status or living situation. For those individuals who qualify for a vaccine in this next phase and have filled out the interest form on our website, we will reach out to them through email or phone to schedule an appointment. Please check your email spam folder in case the email gets sent there.
At this time, only local health departments and hospitals have received the vaccine. We are partnering with Appalachian Regional Healthcare System (ARHS) and will be following the NC DHHS guidelines as we administer the vaccine.
For Watauga County, we received our first shipment of 600 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on December 22nd. The following week we received 975 doses of Pfizer vaccine. We have administered 206 vaccines as of January 4, 2021. On January 4, we received 400 doses of Moderna vaccine for Watauga County. We will provide regular vaccine updates in our weekly situation reports which are released each Friday and are located on our website here.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit our website.
Additional Resources
Visit the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services website for more information about the vaccine including the COVID-19 vaccination plan and frequently asked questions.
For more information related to COVID-19, including local data, visit AppHealthCare’s website here.
Our COVID-19 call center is available to take COVID-19 related calls each day at (828) 795-1970 and you can also email questions to preparedness@apphealth.com.
AppHealthCare is available and on-call 24/7 to respond to public health emergencies. To reach us, call Watauga (828) 264-4995, Ashe (336) 246-9449, Alleghany (336) 372-5641 anytime and follow the prompts. For more information, visit www.AppHealthCare.com and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
