Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
Today, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced changes to the criteria for priority distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to include individuals 65 years of age or older in Group 2. In addition, DHHS announced a modification to Group 1 to include all healthcare workers who are at a healthcare setting.
Faculty and staff who meet this new criteria will receive an email from Duke Employee Occupational Health inviting them to schedule an appointment for vaccination at one of the three employee vaccination clinics located at our three hospitals. Eligible staff will be able to select the location most convenient for them. Only employees are eligible to be vaccinated at our employee clinics. We are not able to vaccinate employee dependents or others at these sites.
The expansion of the Group 2 criteria to include those 65 years of age and older applies to Duke Health patients and the general public, as well. We will continue our current approach of scheduling vaccination appointments through MyChart for this target population.
At this time, those who do not meet the updated criteria, including those younger than 65 years of age who are living, working or studying on campus, are not yet eligible to be vaccinated.
We continue to receive a multitude of messages and questions about when individuals can be vaccinated. The criteria for vaccination are dictated by the state and are dynamic. We will notify you directly to schedule an appointment once you are eligible for vaccination. In the meanwhile, please monitor the Duke COVID Vaccine website to review the details for the priority distribution plan and answers to frequently asked questions.
Sincerely,
Kyle Cavanaugh
Vice President, Administration
Carol Epling, MD, MSPH
Director, Employee Occupational Health and Wellness
Gail Shulby, RN, MA, CPPS
Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President, Duke Health
Cameron R. Wolfe, MBBS (Hons), MPH, FIDSA
Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Duke Health
Co-Leaders of the Duke COVID Vaccination Work Group
Duke Health has administered more vaccinations than any other health system in North Carolina with plans to expand capacity to additional locations in the coming days. Our team has done incredible work to manage the distribution at our employee, patient and community vaccine clinics, according to state guidelines and dealing with a limited supply of doses. More than 400 physicians, providers and staff have registered to volunteer and staff COVID vaccination sites. Thank you!
Pictured above: Padma Gulur, MD; Ann Reed, MD; John Paat, MD; and Mike Lipkin, MD.