Governor Roy Cooper announced North Carolina’s Covid-19 vaccine distribution program this week, and food and beverage professionals will be among the first groups to get the vaccine. The first vaccination in the state took place in Charlotte this week, with frontline healthcare workers getting the first round of Pfizer vaccinations. Long-term care facility residents and staff are also in the first priority group.

The second group to get access includes “adults at high risk of exposure, including essential frontline workers.” This includes police, food processors, and teachers. Even as businesses were shut down in mid-March, restaurants continued to operate takeout, putting their staffs at high risk of coming into contact with someone infected with Covid-19.

The vaccine requires an initial shot and a booster, which will be given three to four weeks after the initial shot. Getting the vaccine is free to all, including those without health insurance. According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the state hopes to begin vaccinating groups outside of healthcare workers in early 2021. At the end of this month, vaccines will be given to those at long-term care facilities.

“Beyond that, questions remain,” Cooper said at a press conference. “North Carolina and every other state still need clarity from the federal government as to how many doses of the Pfizer vaccine we will receive going forward.”

After receiving the vaccine, individuals are asked to continue practicing what the state is calling the “3 Ws:” Wearing a mask, waiting six feet apart, and washing your hands. Read more about the state’s vaccine program, including where to get it, here.

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