It’s difficult to find anyone who is pleased with the COVID-19 vaccine distribution program in North Carolina.
Even those who have managed to get vaccinated have complained about the jammed phone lines and long waits.
And now you can add the North Carolina state legislature to the long list of the disgruntled.
The huge difference between the legislature and everyone else in the state is that the legislature may be able to do something about it.
Tuesday, Jan. 12, legislators held a hearing and asked the administration of Gov. Roy Cooper for some answers.
According to Bloomberg, North Carolina has only distributed 25.8 percent of the vaccine allocated to the state by the federal government and that ranks North Carolina 48th in the country in vaccine distribution. The poor distribution in the state is of particular concern since reports are that future vaccine allocations from the federal government may be based on the state’s performance in actually vaccinating people.
Lawmakers honed in on the fact that the distribution plan relies almost entirely on the counties, despite the lesson the Cooper administration supposedly learned when it distributed hurricane relief. In 2019, the director of emergency management for the Cooper administration said, “We have learned from experience that many local governments lack the staff expertise and capacity to administer [disaster relief].”
Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen pointed the finger at the federal government’s changing guidelines. What Cohen didn’t mention is that those are only guidelines and the ultimate authority to decide how the vaccine is distributed in North Carolina is Cohen herself.
Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnet) said, “I support our health departments and want them to succeed. We need one person in charge making decisions and sticking with them. This isn’t up to the federal government, and counties aren’t equipped to handle the task. The state executive branch needs to take the reins, make tough calls, and move forward.”
Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), said, “The administration had ten months to draft and refine a plan to distribute a vaccine that everybody in he world knew was in development, but they didn’t even effectively plan for something as simple as what to do when too many people call asking to schedule their vaccination. The status quo is completely unacceptable, and the failure of the county-centric model was know before planning even began.”
It may be some small consolation to know that the problems people are experiencing in Guilford County are not unique to the county but are similar to problems being experienced across the state.
The legislators can’t do jack, John. Governor Dictator has went around them for the last 10 months, and they haven’t been able to crack through yet.
Legislators think like computer operators. They think that if they connect the dots, and punch in some info, then something will happen and it will be fixed.
Solution? Personally apply what you signed up for. Answer the f&^*()^g phone.
His excellency is too busy telling us what to do to monitor his staff to see what is (or is not!) happening on the vaccine front. Typical government agency. Remember that Pfizer announced that they had an effective vaccine November 10 and it took 45 days for the FDA to approve its use. Similar delay for the Moderna vaccine. The bureaucracy lives, it thrives, it grows, it tells us what to do but is never answerable for the lives lost by its delays.
For those waiting for the vaccine, there is some potentially very good news. NC State researchers have identified chemical compounds in green tea, two varieties of muscadine grapes, cacao powder and dark chocolate that are able to bind to different portions of the virus (i.e., between those spikey things), inhibiting its ability to reproduce. That means that if you have the virus and you drink green tea and eat dark chocolate, your body will have a better chance of overcoming the virus. Plus, you don’t need a prescription, and there are no side effects — unless you eat too much chocolate.
The News and Record declined to publish this information since there have been no published studies in humans of the efficacy of green tea and dark chocolate in inhibiting the virus’s ability to multiply. On the otherh hand, what harm would there be to recommend green tea to those who just discovered that they have confirmed cases? After all, “the science” says green tea inhibits the virus’s ability to reproduce. And don’t forgeet the booster – dark chocolate!
https://news.ncsu.edu/2020/11/food-chemical-compounds-can-inhibit-a-key-sars-cov-2-enzyme/
Giving an injection is not rocket science. Many people self inject to take medicines on a regular basis; I’ve been doing it for 23 years. Give the vaccine to pharmacies, doctors offices, call in the national guard if needed or I will gladly go pick mine up and administer it to myself. The lack of preparedness for something as simple as this makes me wonder what would happen if the entire state had a real disaster.
I’m from the Government and I’m here to help.
Ronald Reagan laughed as he said it. Sadly it continues to get worse.
Who is the brightest bulb in the chandelier?Not Coop and Mandy!!!! They need help in getting out of the house in the morning.The gall of Mandy saying the fed is to blame.This is the hype of stupidity,saying the feds didn’t come to Raleigh and hold their hand about how to administer the shots.How did NC wind up with all these incompetent people at the time of an emergency.Just when we need leaders.This is a terrific example of the Peter Principle, elevate all our current leaders to the level of incompetence.This is NC and Guilford County and Greensboro.
Roy Cooper needs to be impeached for how he has handled this all he wants is to lock us down he has had months to have a plan to roll out how to get this vaccine out but he just don’t care impeached this man for not doing his job.
Blame Trump, has to be his fault. Only 6 more days to use that excuse.
Just heard on the radio they are going to loosen the guidelines and allow 65 and older to get the vaccine. WTH!!!! They can’t even get it out to the 75 and older. Still can’t make an appointment online in Guilford County as all the slots are full. This hasn’t changed in a week. So do we have vaccine that is not being dispensed or not?
So you really expect an answer? Give’m a call, if anyone will ANSWER THE F^(%()^%G PHONE.
When are they going to pressure Cooper into signing a damn budget?