Governor Roy Cooper announced all North Carolina residents over the age of 16 will become eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in two weeks.

Cooper made the announcement Thursday, moving up the timeline for vaccination plans in the state once again. Remaining residents in Group 4 will become eligible on Wednesday, March 31, and the remaining North Carolinian adults in Group 5 become eligible on April 7. Previously, the state’s vaccination distribution plan had the remaining people in Group 4 becoming eligible on April 7.

Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen said only one of the three vaccines is currently authorized for emergency use for people ages 16 and 17.

“Only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for 16 and 17-year-olds,” Cohen said. “That means the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are only for those 18 and up.”

Data from North Carolina Health and Human Services shows more than 25 percent of the state’s population has been at least partially vaccinated, with around 15 percent having been fully vaccinated. The state surpassed 4.1 million total doses administered at the end of last week.

Cooper previously moved up the timetable for Group 4 vaccinations. Residents with high-risk medical conditions became eligible to receive vaccine doses on March 17 — a week ahead of schedule. Distribution efforts for Group 3 were also accelerated, with the governor moving up the two-week long gap between educators and other Group 3 residents to just one week after the federal government approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Earlier this week, Cooper announced a new executive order to ease some pandemic restrictions within North Carolina. Set to go into effect on Friday, the measure will allow certain businesses to open at 100 percent capacity indoors and outdoors with safety protocols in place. This includes museums, aquariums, retail businesses and shops, salons and personal care shops. Other businesses, like restaurants, bars, movie theaters and entertainment venues, will also be allowed to increase their indoor capacity.

In addition, the mass gathering limit, which covers other kinds of gatherings not laid out in the order, will be increased to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors. The previous mass gathering limit was 25 indoors and 50 outdoors.

 

Photo via the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

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