North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday that the state has seen 1,280 of its coronavirus vaccine doses get discarded.

“Only 0.1% (or 1,280) of the 1.1 million doses which have entered the state thus far have become unusable for any reason and we have not received reports of significant batches being lost,” the department said in a statement to The Associated Press.

In a Thursday afternoon news conference, the state’s top public health official, Dr. Mandy Cohen, estimated the waste to be “in the tens of doses.”

Doses being administered at county health departments, clinics, hospitals and other places could be tossed out due to a vaccine being stored too long in a freezer or not being administered in a timely manner once it has been taken out of a freezer. There are currently 136 different vaccine providers in the state.

The health department said some providers are working to extract as many doses as they can out of multi-dose vials. Low dead-volume syringes allow for a sixth dose to be taken out of a vial of the Pfizer vaccine.

“In some cases, providers have been able to extract an extra dose out of the Pfizer supply, and we appreciate the hard work of providers to maximize the use of this supply,” the department said.

North Carolina expects to continue getting about 120,000 new first doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines each week.

 

 

Related Stories
‹
North Carolina Moves To Limit Out-of-State Access To Vaccine
North Carolina is shifting its vaccine distribution guidance to dissuade people from traveling long distances to receive a COVID-19 shot in the state. Under updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clarifying travel policies, North Carolina has enacted stricter vaccination policies to improve North Carolinians’ access to the vaccine. “To promote the […]
1 in 37 North Carolina Vaccine Recipients Live Out of State
When Ottis Grimes tried to call a hotline after the state opened up vaccines for seniors last month, he was met with an endless supply of music as he remained on hold. Frustrated with the appointment booking process, the retired banker who lives in Lake Wylie, South Carolina, but still goes to the doctor in […]
Out-of-State Residents Can Get COVID Vaccine in N. Carolina
Biden Admin To Administer 3,000 Daily Vaccines in Greensboro
The White House announced Friday morning that it will include North Carolina in its federal pilot program of community vaccination centers. Starting March 10, a Greensboro site will receive about 3,000 vaccines per day. The timing aligns with Gov. Roy Cooper’s expansion of vaccine eligibility to frontline essential workers. Teachers, child care workers and school […]
Audit: NC Medicaid Failed To Confirm Provider Qualifications
North Carolina’s Medicaid agency fell short on ensuring doctors and other medical providers met licensing and ownership qualifications to serve patients in the program, state auditors declared Thursday. The report from State Auditor Beth Wood’s office examined samples from among the 90,000 Medicaid providers in the state in 2019. The performance audit found that the Division of […]
North Carolina Prisons Offer Incentives for Offenders to Get Vaccine
Most North Carolina prisoners can get five days knocked off their sentences if they receive COVID-19 vaccinations, state corrections officials said on Friday. A package of incentives, which also include extra visitations and a free 10-minute phone call, were unveiled a few weeks after prison leaders said they were considering ways to motivate prisoners to […]
Cooper Visits Clinic Pushing To Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday visited Piedmont Health SeniorCare in Pittsboro to gather ideas about how to help overcome the reluctance of some to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The federally qualified health center that administers doses with an emphasis on serving racial and ethnic minority groups said it first worked to overcome hesitancy […]
North Carolina Revises Vaccine Distribution Plan, Halts Evictions
North Carolina is making substantial changes to its coronavirus vaccine distribution plan, paving the way for all adults 75 years or older to be prioritized under the first phase of distribution. Mandy Cohen, the state’s top public health official, said in a news conference Wednesday that residents in that age group can expect to get […]
Costs Watched as Medicaid Managed Care Begins in N. Carolina
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON After six years of preparations and delays, most of North Carolina’s Medicaid recipients switched over to managed care Thursday with its developers hopeful the changes will mean improved health outcomes and controlled costs. “It’s been a long time coming,” said Rep. Donny Lambeth, a Forsyth County Republican who helped pass […]
As Vaccinations Drop, North Carolina May Offer Financial Perks
Written by BRYAN ANDERSON At a time when fewer and fewer North Carolinians are coming in for a COVID-19 vaccine, state health officials are examining ideas from other states to see what incentives might work to boost participation. Among the proposals being actively discussed are savings account payments to younger adults — a group that has […]
›