236,000+ Vaccine Doses Inbound to NC This Week

RALEIGH – It’s the week of Christmas, and North Carolina is getting it’s second vaccine while the first injects more supply. That would have been an extremely hopeful, perhaps implausible, wish just several months ago.

Even so, Pandemic Panic is hitting another gear as cases remain elevated and the emergence of a novel ‘mutant strain’ adds another layer of fear. So, vaccine supplies can’t come soon enough.

Moderna has marked 175,000 doses of its drug for North Carolina this week, with at least half of them dedicated to residents of long term care facilities. Additionally, another 61,000 doses of Pfizer’s two-shot vaccine will be delivered this week as healthcare workers continue getting inoculated. That vaccine was

The rest of the public, who will likely be waiting until the spring for access to the vaccine, are no doubt taking special interest in how early jabbers react to the vaccine as they nervously await wider distribution.

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So far those reactions have been typically mild, akin to a flu vaccine.

From CBS17:

“[…] After the first week of vaccines, no Triangle hospitals reported serious reactions. According to Duke, the most common side effect reported was a sore, red arm.  

Still, many hospitals are staggering when employees from the same unit receive shots.

“I don’t want 100 percent of my ICU workforce to turn up and get the vaccine on the same day because if, say 10% of those guys do feel a little bit unwell the next day and need to take a day off work, I’ve lost a workforce,” explained Dr. Cameron Wolfe, infectious disease expert at Duke.  

He added, that the possibility of side effects shouldn’t deter people from getting the shot.

“I don’t think people should be surprised that a vaccine that’s effective at stimulating your immune system makes you feel a bit lousy for 24 hours,” he noted. […]”

Three of this author’s family members have received the Pfizer vaccine, with no issue other than localized soreness at the injection site.

Naturally, there is some hesitancy about new, rapidly developed vaccinations (especially in today’s atmosphere), but skepticism is more acute in certain groups. Black Americans are especially wary of the vaccine, with only about 15 percent thinking it will be safe. Notably, one of the scientists behind the Moderna vaccine is a black woman from High Point, North Carolina, Dr. Kizzy Corbett.

Despite the hesitancy by some, an overwhelming majority report they will get the vaccine, which provides an opportunity for some reprieve, not only from the virus itself, but from the panic restrictions that are weighing on communities across the nation. With enough people vaccinated, hopefully the immuno-confidence will permeate the fog of fear enough for people to snap out of it and shake the ‘new normal’ for a return to life instead.

It won’t be without obstacles, however. A vaccine is not a panacea, and, already, the fear mongers are undermining the immunity effects, saying masks are still necessary no matter what. And then there’s the new ‘mutant strain.’ North Carolinians, and Americans, won’t be free from the Pandemic Panic easily.