GREENSBORO, N.C. — Governor Roy Cooper visited a Greensboro coronavirus vaccine clinic as local leaders push for Guilford County to play a bigger role in the state's vaccine plan.
The visit to the Mount Zion Baptist Church vaccine clinic on Thursday came at the request of Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chair Skip Alston. Alston wrote a letter to the Governor last week.
"I'm gonna be asking for more vaccine for Guilford County residents, number one. We can handle 10,000 doses per week," Alston said.
The Mount Zion clinic is working to vaccinate underserved communities and the Governor wanted to learn more about those efforts. The state has said it wants the vaccine distribution process to be fair.
Three miles away, another vaccine clinic opened for the first time where hundreds got their shots.
Carolyn Irving said her cousin died of COVID-19 Wednesday. The next day Irving got her first dose at the new clinic on North Carolina A&T State University's campus. She works in the School of Nursing.
"COVID has been rampant in my family and I feel like I need to do something to safeguard me," Irving said.
Irving tried for weeks to get an appointment with the county but was unsuccessful. The clinic vaccinated 200 people Thursday and organizers plan to vaccinate more than 300 people next week.
Alston believes all of the county's clinics can vaccinate far more people but they need more doses.
He also thinks another Guilford County clinic could be used for mass vaccinations by the state. The Greensboro Coliseum is vaccinating thousands of people a day in a partnership between Guilford County and Cone Health.
"We can handle 10,000 doses per week. We are only getting (about) 3,000 or 5,000. I want some consistency for the citizens here in Guilford County specifically," Alston said.
Governor Cooper said he is working with the Biden administration to bring more doses to the state.
Alston said more doses will be critical as the state moves to vaccinate teachers next month. Guilford County Schools is one of the largest districts in the state.
"We want our teachers to be vaccinated sooner rather than later but we can't do that with only getting two to three thousand vaccines per week," Alston said.
He hopes to learn more about whether or not Guilford County can become a larger mass vaccination site in the coming weeks.
Alston told WFMY News 2's Grace Holland he is optimistic that Guilford County will be "highly considered" for a future site.