CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Next Wednesday, nearly 3 million more people in North Carolina will become eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccinations will open to people who have certain underlying health conditions, including cancer, asthma or diabetes. It will also allow prisoners and people experiencing homelessness to get the shot.
It's a necessary step forward in vaccination efforts but it will drive up the demand and some people are concerned it could lead others to try and cut the line.
“Millions of people are stretching the truth and getting the vaccine and honestly I don’t have a problem with whatever people want to do but ethically I’m just mad I’d have to do that in order to get it,” said Maria Butler, a local hairstylist.
She is eager to get the protection the vaccines offer.
“It’s not just about me, it's about all these clients I’m seeing,” she said. Butler owns her own hair salon and can't make a living working from home, but still has safety concerns on the job. She wishes she was higher up on the prioritization list but her turn is coming up faster.
When people with underlying health conditions putting them at a higher risk become eligible, they won't have to show proof of their condition.
“We are to a great extent leaving the attestation of whether they’re eligible or not up to the individual. We are not policing that strongly. We don’t have the capacity to police that strongly,” Gibbie Harris, Mecklenburg County Health Director said on Thursday.
Vaccine providers hoping and expecting people are being honest.
“We still feel strongly that requiring some sort of proof of work, letters or badges or things like that would really just put up barriers that are unnecessary or would prevent specifically marginalized communities from getting access,” said Nikki Nissen with Novant Health.
Have a relative or friend in another state and want to know when they can get vaccinated? Visit NBC News' Plan Your Vaccine site to find out about each state's vaccine rollout plan.
All providers in the Charlotte area are working hard to accommodate this next group. Demand is growing but the supply still can't keep up the pace.
“You can see a drugstore of some sort on most corners in your community. So, I think it just makes sense from an accessibility standpoint for patients,” CJ Hester with CVS said.
Three locations in the Charlotte area will begin those vaccinations on Sunday. CVS officials would not disclose the specific stores in order to avoid people lining up there, but two are in Mecklenburg County and one is in Union County.
“This is our wheelhouse," Hester said. "This is what we specialize in so to be able to take a new vaccine like the COVID-19 vaccine and offer it to our community, to me it just makes the most sense."
This week, CVS received an allocation of the Pfizer vaccine from the federal government and the first and second doses will be scheduled at the same time. They’ll also start a waitlist.