Rowan Health Department to administer 1,170 Pfizer vaccines this week

Published 12:10 am Tuesday, March 23, 2021

SALISBURY — The Rowan County Health Department will have more COVID-19 vaccines than usual this week and a different variety than previous drive-thru events.

The Health Department received 1,170 Pfizer vaccines to administer for first doses this week. It also plans to administer 1,230 Moderna vaccines for second doses on Wednesday and Saturday.

All appointments were claimed quickly on Monday for the first doses, which will be administered Thursday at West End Plaza. The county opens up its online appointment tool for the week at 10 a.m. on Monday, with appointments provided on a first-come, first-served basis. The website address to make online appointments is rowancountync.gov/1671/First-Dose-Clinics. People without good internet access can also call 980-432-1800 and choose option No. 1 to schedule on appointment.

Because the Rowan Health Department since the start of the pandemic has administered several hundred first doses per week of the Moderna vaccine, county officials asked that people signed up for this week’s drive-thru clinic commit to a second vaccination on April 14.

Second doses provided by the Health Department are for people who received their first dose during the county’s drive-thru clinics. People receive a phone call from the county’s COVID-19 information line (980-432-1800) and an email from noreply@everbridge.net with the subject line “RoCo COVID Info” with information about their second dose.

Another option to receive a vaccine is Novant Health, which is administering them to existing patients at the J.F. Hurley YMCA in Salisbury. People can schedule an appointment through their regular doctor, via the MyChart app or care.novanthealth.org/vaccine

Walgreens and CVS also offer vaccinations at their stores, but all appointments at nearby stores were booked on Monday afternoon.

Data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday showed 19,871 people who live in Rowan County partially vaccinated (received one dose). About 13,667 Rowan County residents have been fully vaccinated. Those numbers represent 14% and 9.6% of the population, respectively.

Rowan County is near the bottom of the state for first doses administered per capita. It ranks slightly better per capita in people who are fully vaccinated.

In the previous two weeks, there have been 365 COVID-19 positives reported, which is better than the two-week per capita numbers Davie and Stanly counties and worse than other neighboring communities. There have been 15,406 positive COVID-19 tests in Rowan County since the start of the pandemic.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in Rowan County remained at 292 on Monday. COVID-19 hospitalizations in Rowan County’s region were up slightly, to 222. In the previous 24 hours, 31 people had been admitted to the hospital with the coronavirus.

Statewide positive tests were mostly flat, with 1,248 new cases reported Monday. There were 924 people hospitalized.