Durham’s COVID vaccine megasite ‘on pause’ due to lack of supply, health director says

Plans for a mass vaccination megasite for Durham County are “on pause,” Health Director Rod Jenkins said Monday.

The county, in partnership with Duke University and the state’s Office of Emergency Management, announced plans for the megasite last month with the goal of vaccinating 17,000 people a week.

On Jan. 25, Jenkins said the state had been working with Fidelity Investments to open the clinic. A location hadn’t been announced yet, but there were plans to open it in early February.

But those plans are on hold now, Jenkins told the county commissioners, until the state gets more first and second vaccine doses.

“It’s not necessarily the best news that we want to hear, but I’m confident that when supplies become a little bit more robust, that that is going to go back on,” he said. “But planning for that has been paused at this time.”

People who have appointments will still be able to get the vaccine.

He said the site is not “out of the question” in the future.

“We’re really tethered by the allotments we receive,” Jenkins said.

Durham County received 600 vaccine doses last week, and expects 600 more for each of the next two weeks. The county also acquired 700 additional “equity doses,” specifically for Black and brown residents over the age of 65, Jenkins said.

Like other states, North Carolina has struggled with supply as well as equity in its vaccine rollout, with white people overrepresented among those who have received a shot, The N&O reported.

As of Monday, Feb. 8, Durham County has administered 36,634 first doses and 13,822 second doses, according to N.C. Health and Human Services.

Wake County’s first drive-through vaccination site is scheduled at the PNC Arena in Raleigh starting Thursday, Feb. 11, the Wake County Health Department announced on Friday.

The clinic is appointment-only, with 2,100 vaccinations expected to be administered to those who already have appointments through the county. The state is currently vaccinating Group 1 (health care workers and long-term care facility residents and staff) and Group 2 (people who are 65 and older).

This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 9:05 PM.