WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Not too long ago securing a vaccine appointment felt near impossible to some. But things are getting better with more sites, more slots, and more shots in the Triad.
"It is easier because when I first got my mom an appointment at the beginning of last month it was really hard, I had to search for days," Laura Diaz explained. She lives in Randolph County but tried to secure a spot anywhere in the Triad. "Now for {my elderly neighbor} I was able to find an appointment on the first day that I looked for one this week."
Making a COVID-19 vaccine appointment locally is easier than it's ever been. But Diaz said it's still not a breeze.
"I wouldn't say it's extremely easy but it is easier to find a vaccine appointment now."
Case in point: The Guilford County Health Department phone line for appointments opened up at 8 a.m. Tuesday and still had slots available hours later. Usually they fill up within 15 minutes of opening.
A spokesperson attributes the federal Four Seasons mass vaccination site opening up in Greensboro as a reason the county healthy department isn't running out of appointments so quickly.
More sites that have more doses on hand are also helping speed up the process.
The Winston-Salem Fairgrounds will be the site of a mass vaccination event March 12-14th. Appointments are all booked up for that event.
"This is the biggest event we've had so far and we're going to do over 8,000 doses over the course of two and a half days," Forsyth County Public Health Director Joshua Swift said. "We're going to be giving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only so one dose."
In collaboration, the Forsyth County Department of Public Health, Novant Health, and Wake Forest Baptist Health are hosting the event for healthcare workers, seniors and essential frontline workers.
"We're usually able to see 10,000 people in a week. This allows us to compress that to a smaller time frame."