ROCKINGHAM — Residents wanting the jab will soon have to sign up ahead of time.
The Richmond County Health Department announced Wednesday that it will be only giving vaccinations against COVID-19 by appointment starting May 15.
Appointments for Monday-Friday can be made by calling 910-997-8301.
The post on social media also notes that COVID testing will not be available at the Health Department.
According to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services COVID Dashboard, 54% of county residents (24,051) have been vaccinated with at least one dose.
NCDHHS records show there have been 3,765 cases of the virus within the past year.
The highest number of weekly cases in that time frame was 257, during the week ending July 23, 2022. Of those, 40 were reinfection cases.
The first week of January had the most (113, 24 reinfections) so far this calendar year.
Although the data is incomplete for the final week of April, there were at least 15 new cases, five being reinfections.
The last week with no reinfections was that ending Nov. 26, 2022.
State data does not indicate the number of those infected who have been vaccinated. Figures also do not include those who may have taken an at-home test who didn’t report the results to NCDHHS.
Since the week ending June 25, 2022, there have been 22 local COVID-releated deaths, according to data from NCDHHS. The most recent was during the week ending April 1.
Records show that since COVID was first reported in Richmond County in April of 2020, there have been 16,587 total cases and 217 COVID-related deaths.
