GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — More people are going to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to data distributed by the Guilford County Health Department.
Graphs WFMY News 2 received from the Guilford County Health Department show 156 first doses administered by the health department between July 31 and Aug. 6.
From Aug. 7-11, the graph shows 526 first doses administered by the Guilford County Health Department. August 7 is when the $100 cash cards started being offered at health department vaccine events.
Because of the increase in demand, appointments will be required for the public health clinics at 1100 East Wendover Avenue in Greensboro and at 501 East Green Drive in High Point starting Friday.
The health department said this is to make sure patients stay 6 feet apart while waiting to get their shots.
Appointments are also available at GCDPH community clinics, but walk-ins are still accepted there.
Wake Forest Baptist Health Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Christopher Ohl said there might be a couple of other reasons for the increase in demand, in addition to the cash cards being offered.
"I think delta variant got some people motivated, also some vaccine mandates in some workplaces," said Dr. Ohl.
Dr. Ohl said it's a good thing that more people are getting vaccinated, but it might be some time before we see it have an impact on numbers.
"The vaccines that are going into people now, which will be good for the long run to keep things nice and quiet for us, aren’t going to quite be in there fast enough to help us in this time of delta right now," he said.
Dr. Ohl said people need to make sure they get tested when they're sick.
"I think there’s a lot of people that aren’t getting tested and that’s not a good thing and there could be a lot of reasons for that, that people don’t want to know if they have COVID if they get sick, but you need to get tested so we can do the contact tracing," he said.
Overall, Dr. Ohl said he still stands by the prediction that metrics will begin to look better towards the end of September. In the meantime, Ohl said people should continue to wear their masks and get their shots.
"We're getting there. I think this wave is the wave that’s going to get us close to [herd immunity] it. Because, either you’re going to get vaccinated or you’re going to get COVID. You'll become immune. You can choose how. I'd probably choose the vaccine. It’s a lot less risky than choosing COVID," said Ohl.
The Randolph County Health Department said its seen an uptick in first dose demand as well.
The health department said on the first day of the cash card program, which was last Thursday, 180 people got their first dose. On Friday, 52 first doses were given out, and Thursday this week the health department administered 250 first shots.