In small-town NC, thousands get vaccine quickly, efficiently and with much enthusiasm
A retired soldier, Michael McGrath strode into the Dunn Community Center on Friday in his Dickies overalls, sat in a folding chair and took his second COVID-19 shot in the left shoulder — a process that took all of 5 minutes.
Now fully vaccinated, he had only one concern: Where’s the free cookies?
“Stabbed me and we’re done,” he said. “They’ve done this before.”
In small-town Dunn, Harnett Health System managed to vaccinate 1,500 people Thursday and was on a pace to match that number Friday.
To compare, in Wake County, health officials hoped to get vaccines in 1,000 arms a day at Raleigh’s PNC Center.
Harnett ran its operation with about 40 nursing students and other volunteers, working with only about 100 parking spaces and overflow at the Love Center next door.
They ran two lines of cars under a tent, giving shots to disabled seniors through rolled-down windows out of the rain.
They gave color-coded bracelets to patients who could walk in, calling them by color over the FM radio frequency 90.3.
‘It just makes us excited’
With Dunn police directing traffic, patients moved in and out within a trouble-free half hour. Rural-county vaccinations are booming in Harnett County, and the health care workers run it smoother than an assembly line.
“When you give someone a vaccine, that’s one person you won’t see in our ICU,” said Teresa Womack, who manages infection control for Harnett Health. “It just makes us excited. It’s been a rough year.”
Harnett Health, a collection of hospitals and clinics, has now vaccinated more than 10,000 people, said Kelly Honeycutt, director of administrative operations.
Their events draw patients from Wake County to parts of South Carolina.
And though a few “vaccine chasers” came Thursday hoping for leftover shots, there were none.
Honeycutt called getting an early vaccine a longshot in Dunn.
The clinic opens at 10 a.m., but she is notorious for opening the doors at 9. On Thursday, the parking lot had filled when she arrived at 7:30 a.m.
“We don’t normally have a lot of excess,” she said. “We have a waiting list with 100 people, and we call at the end of the day. I think it speaks a lot for our personnel, doing 1,500 a day.”
The Pfizer vaccines sat in plastic Sterilite tubs for all to see. When the staff switched out lots of 975 doses each, they called out into the community center, “Attention, everybody! Who here has not yet had a vaccine? Raise your hand!”
By noon, the morning rush was over and all the bracelet colors were welcome. Outside, cars rolled through the rainy parking lot without patients getting a drop of rain on them.
‘Look at all the people here!’
McGrath, who made more than 60 jumps with the 82nd Airborne Division, called the operation a model of efficiency.
“COVID hasn’t really impacted my life much,” he said. “I do it more to protect others. You don’t want to be spreading this to high-risk people. But look at all the people here! It’s phenomenal.”
Cindy Bordeaux drove to Dunn from Holly Springs, having tried in vain for a vaccine appointment in Wake County.
“You couldn’t get on a list,” she said, relaxing after her second shot. “I never even spoke to a person.”
She added that a friend traveled to Charlotte for a shot. Others she know went to Granville County. Whatever it takes, she said.
“I’m in a socially distant group at church, and when they got their shots they were just giddy,” she said. “They weren’t going to throw a party or anything, but it’s very exciting!”
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 3:27 PM with the headline "In small-town NC, thousands get vaccine quickly, efficiently and with much enthusiasm."