COVID-19 Vaccine Sites In & Around Cary
Cary, NC — As more vials of the coronavirus vaccines become available, we’ve put together a guide to help Cary residents know when they’re eligible and what locations are offering them.
First, here’s some background on the vaccine and its distribution from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Wake County.
Vaccine 101
- Vaccines are free for everyone
- You cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine
- To date, the vaccines are 95% effective in preventing COVID-19
- Two doses of the same vaccine are necessary
- The second shot will come 3 to 4 weeks after the first
- You could have temporary reactions like a sore arm, headache, or feeling tired and achy for a day or two
A press release from NCDHHS dated January 25, 2021, said North Carolina is close to exhausting its supply of first doses.
Of total doses received in North Carolina, 93% have been administered, making North Carolina the 6th best-ranked state in the U.S. for total doses administered. More data like this can be found on the NC Vaccination Dashboard.
Know Your Group Number
North Carolina is currently vaccinating people in Groups 1 and 2, which include health care workers, long-term care staff and residents and people 65 and older, regardless of health status or living situation.
For those that do not fall into either of these two groups being vaccinated now, NCDHHS has launched a new online tool that makes checking your group number easy. It’s called Find My Vaccine Group and asks a few survey-style questions to determine if you are in group 3, 4 or 5. From there, you can sign up to be notified when your group is eligible.
Waiting List & Vaccination Sites
Wake County currently has three mass vaccination sites in operation— Wake County Public Health Center, Wake County Commons Building and just recently, PNC Arena. Here’s how they work.
Those currently eligible for the vaccine can join the Wake County waiting list online. As more vaccines become available, one of the medical partners (Wake County Public Health, UNC Health, Duke or Wake Med) will notify those that can soon be vaccinated.
Then, that person will be instructed to sign up for the State of North Carolina’s COVID Vaccine Management System before making their appointment to receive the vaccine. Take a look at more Wake County details.
New Drive-Thru Clinic at PNC
The home of the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State Men’s Basketball has recently become the third mass vaccination site for Wake County. The owners of PNC Arena agreed to turn the 8,000-space parking lot into an appointment-only drive-thru vaccine clinic aimed at “vaccinating those at highest risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.”
The site started its vaccinations on February 11, 2021, and will continue operating in future weeks as vaccine allocations allow.
Walgreens
Walgreens will offer the COVID-19 vaccine in 300 Stores with a total of 31,200 doses in North Carolina starting on Feb 12 as a distributor under the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Walgreens has announced its plans to distribute 1 million doses of the Moderna Vaccine. For more information, see the sign-up page.
UNC Health Locations
On January 11, 2021, the Friday Conference Center at 100 Friday Center Drive in Chapel Hill started up its COVID-19 vaccination site. Appointments with UNC Health are required and can be made online. Walk-ins are not accepted.
Other UNC Heatlh locations are also offering appointments such as the Cary-based UNC Panther Creek Family Medicine office and a location on Blue Ridge Road.
Duke Raleigh Hospital
Story and PNC Arena photo by Ashley Kairis. Other photos courtesy of Wake County and NCDHHS.
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Thank you for a very clear and easy to understand article on such an important topic!