RALIEGH – More than 10,000 people have received public transportation to get a COVID-19 vaccination this year, thanks to an initiative supported by the N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
However, officials with the NCDOT and NCDHHS are reminding people that public transit agencies statewide are still available to take people to get a vaccination.
“It is our mission to ensure that every North Carolinian has access to a vaccine site,” said state Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette. “If you need assistance receiving your shot, please contact your local transit agency.”
“Providing transportation is one of the many ways that we are working to make it as easy as possible for North Carolinians to take their shot,” said North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. “Rigorous clinical trials among thousands of people age 12 and up have proven that the vaccines are safe and effective and the best way to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and death.”
Since January, NCDOT and NCDHHS have been administering the $2.5 million in Coronavirus Relief Funding. Each local transit agency received a set amount of funding, and the initiative will continue until funds are exhausted for that agency. The funds are being used to offset the operating costs associated with transit rides to and from vaccination sites for people who are receiving or assisting someone in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
To date, 84 transit agencies have used the federal funds to take people to and from vaccine sites in North Carolina.
If you need assistance accessing a vaccine site, please contact your local transit agency. All North Carolina transit agencies can be found on the NCDOT website.
For more information about COVID-19 vaccines in North Carolina, visit YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov or call the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Help Center at 888-675-4567.