GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Gaston County is set to expand its COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
As the county rolls out its second large-scale vaccination clinic Friday at the Gastonia Farmer’s Market, it is also preparing for the change in requirements rolled out Thursday by the state.
The state has added in the 65-to-74-year-old population as part of what is now being referred to as Group 2. Gaston County is continuing to register individuals both through its hotline, 704-866-3170, and at GastonSaves.com/covid19vaccine.
Thousands of Gaston County residents have already registered online since that option was launched last Thursday.
County employees will continue to staff the hotline during the week starting at 8 a.m. and will be available each day until 5 p.m. It has pulled employees from departments across the county and is getting additional assistance from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to help manage the historically high call volume.
In response, the County will soon be adding vaccination days on Wednesdays in addition to Fridays as it will soon not only be providing the first shot to hundreds of residents at a time but also the second round of the vaccine to complete the process.
The county also opened up another 2,400 vaccination appointments for the next three weeks.
The County is also working closely with its partners at CaroMont Health and Kintegra Health to maximize the opportunities to get members of the community vaccinated.
Those in the 65-74 age range should expect it may take a few weeks to get to their turn in line as the County has booked out appointments with remaining healthcare workers (Group 1) and the 75-and-over population that have pre-registered for appointments.
Vaccination clinics continue to be by appointment only, to manage the flow of traffic and allow for as smooth a process as possible