• By Todd Luck
• Posted Thursday, January 7, 2021

Forsyth County Public Health temporarily closing vaccine line as appointments reach capacity

The Forsyth County Department of Public Health is reaching its capacity for appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations for seniors age 75 and older. The appointment line will no longer be accepting calls starting at 2 p.m. on Jan. 7. Public Health staff has a call log from its phone system and will be returning calls of those who couldn’t get through, in the order they were received, until all remaining appointments are filled. Public Health staff will leave messages but will not accept return calls. Registration options will be opened again once Public Health receives more vaccine.

The vaccine appointment line number, 336-703-2081, will show up in the caller ID of those who are called. Since thousands of people called the appointment line, staff will only try to contact each person one time until the appointments are full.

There are currently 2,500 appointments left to fill. Public Health typically receives weekly vaccine allotments in limited numbers, and only receive prior notification from the State a couple days beforehand.

Since December 23, Public Health and Emergency Services staff have vaccinated approximately 2,300 individuals. Staff vaccinated 550 people yesterday, which was the first day for seniors age 75 and older, who are Group 1 of Phase 1b of the vaccine rollout.

This is an unprecedented situation that Public Health staff are working hard to adapt to and are looking for better solutions for scheduling appointments. Public Health officials want to thank the public for their overwhelming interest in the vaccine and their patience in the coming weeks as they continue with Group 1. While supplies are currently limited, more vaccine will become available in the coming weeks and months, and there will be enough for everyone to get a vaccine who wants one.