Vaccination effort rolls on

A pair of weekend COVID-19 vaccination clinics wrapped up with 1,000 doses of vaccine being delivered as the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative continued its work fighting the coronavirus.

Nearly 2,000 doses of vaccine have been administered by the initiative since its inception in January.

“HCPCVI learned about the opportunity to apply to NCDHHS for vaccine allocation under the special events category,” Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation Executive Director Robin Tindall said. “Wasting no time, and with the support of Macon and Jackson County Health Departments, HCPVI submitted an application noting we had proven capacity to do large events and vaccinate a big number of people in a short time, 900 people on the wait list and proactive plans to reach marginalized populations.”

Along with the weekend vaccination clinics, HCPCVI has worked with Macon County and Glenville-Cashiers EMS units to vaccinate 31 homebound citizens at their respective residences.

“This week 31 of our most vulnerable residents were vaccinated at home, in partnership with Macon County EMS, Macon County Senior Services, Macon County Health Department, and a variety of non-profits who helped to identify homebound residents in our community,” Tindall said.

A second dose clinic was held on Wednesday at the Highlands Rec Center for citizens who received their first vaccine in January.

More than 120 volunteers handled every aspect of the clinic from keeping order in the parking lot to helping patients fill out the necessary forms prior to their vaccination during the three most recent clinics.

“We so greatly appreciate the fact that our volunteers bring their own computer laptops to make this expanding effort happen,” Tindall said. “Thank you to each and every big-hearted volunteer for joining this collective HCPCVI effort.”

HCPCVI is a collaborative community effort led by Highlands-Cashiers Hospital and the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation. A total of 18 community groups are actively assisting in the vaccination initiative.

In order to get on the vaccination list, a person has to register via Macon County Public Health. There are three registration options – either online via the county website at maconnc.org, by phone at 828-349-2517 or by phone at 828-524-1500. Call centers are being staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

North Carolina is currently in “Group 2” of the vaccination process, which covers anyone age 65 and older.

Numbers improving

Macon County’s COVID-19 active case numbers continued to decline for the third consecutive week.

According to Macon County Public Health statistics there were 109 active COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday. That number was down from over 292 one week prior and more than 500 on Feb. 1.

Since the pandemic began there have been 2,900 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Macon County. One COVID-19 death was reported in the past week, which brought the death toll to 27 countywide.

Across North Carolina there have been 826,340 confirmed cases and 10,562 deaths attributed to COVID-19.