Cooper visits Wake clinic as children 12 and older start receiving COVID-19 vaccine
Gov. Roy Cooper visited a Wake County walk-in vaccine site in Raleigh on Thursday, the first day that the Pfizer vaccine became available for children age 12 to 15.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for early teens on Monday and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommended use for that age group on Wednesday.
“We’re pleased to see that vaccinations have been expanded,” Cooper said at a press conference after the tour. “These experts believe that this is safe and effective.”
Cooper was joined by other elected officials including two Democrat state legislators who represent Wake County — Rep. Joe John and Sen. Wiley Nickel — as well as Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria.
Cooper toured the Wake County Human Services Center at Departure Drive, one of two walk-in clinics in the county that offers the Pfizer vaccine to children age 12 to 15.
By Thursday afternoon, 15 children in that age group had received a dose at the clinic via walk-in, according to the county.
Others were scheduled by appointment.
The second clinic is at the Wake County Public Health Center. Both locations also accept appointments for vaccinations, said Stacy Beard, Wake County external communications manager.
Cooper spoke with health administrators at the site, health care staff and those being vaccinated, both children and adults.
“You guys are the real heroes,” Cooper said to health care staff during the tour.
Appointments for child vaccinations in Wake County opened Wednesday night, Beard said, and over 600 adults signed up for their children.
She said several others had come to the clinic on Thursday for walk-in vaccinations for their children.
Beard said if demand increases, Wake County is capable of opening more clinics that can offer vaccines to children.
Appointments can be scheduled at WakeGov.com/vaccine or the 24-hour vaccine hotline at 919-250-1515.
The vaccine clinic at Departure Drive is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The county’s public health center at 10 Sunnybrook Road in Raleigh is open at various hours throughout the week. On Mondays and Fridays, the clinic is open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it’s open 12:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. And on Saturday it is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The clinic is not open on Sundays and Wednesdays.
“It has never been more convenient in Wake County to get vaccinated than it is right now,” Calabria said at the press conference.
WakeMed is also offering vaccinations to children age 12 to 15. They have a walk-in clinic at the Andrews Center on the Raleigh campus that’s open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. as well as Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Twelve-year-old Gavin McLawhorn, a student at Wake Forest Middle School, received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at that clinic on Thursday.
“It didn’t feel like anything, honestly. It just felt like a feather hitting your arm. It really didn’t feel like anything,” McLawhorn said. He added that he was looking forward to seeing his grandfather, for the first time in more than a year because of the pandemic.
Indoor mask mandate to remain in place for now
The CDC announced on Thursday that fully vaccinated people do not have to wear a mask indoors.
North Carolina has already rescinded its outdoor mask mandate, but the indoor mask mandate will stay in place for the time being, Cooper said after the tour, despite the CDC announcement.
“We’re going to look at all of the CDC recommendations, and the Department of Health and Human Services, I’m sure, will come out and look at all of that and decide where we go from here,” Cooper said.
State officials have said previously that the indoor mask mandate would be lifted once at least two-thirds of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
As of Thursday, 51% of adults in the state have received at least one dose.
In Wake County, that percentage is 65.7%, Calabria said.
Statewide, new vaccinations have gone down over the past several weeks, The N&O reported last week.
Cooper said that North Carolinians need to continue to convince others to get vaccinated in the interest of public health.
“We need to each and every day convince our neighbors, our friends. We’re looking to doctors, to faith leaders, to community leaders, to family members to try to convince everyone to get these vaccinations,” Cooper said, “so we can emerge from this stronger than ever.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2021 at 2:33 PM.