Gov. Roy Cooper announced this week that on April 7, the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine eligibility will open up to group 5 in North Carolina. This means that all North Carolina residents including UNC Wilmington (UNCW) students, faculty and staff will be able to sign up for appointments to receive vaccinations.

“I’m grateful for North Carolinians who are taking this seriously and getting the shot when it’s their turn,” said Cooper in a press press release on April 1. “I’m encouraged that North Carolina will be able to open eligibility to all adults well ahead of the President’s May 1 goal.”

Additionally, now relatives of UNCW students, faculty, staff and retirees can receive their vaccines at the universities vaccine clinic in the Burney Center.

“In the ID section, Seahawk family members should provide the first and last name of their student, faculty, staff or retiree relative,” as stated in the April 7 announcement.

A link to register for a vaccination time can be found in your UNCW email inbox. Required information to sign up includes name, email, date of birth, student/employee ID and phone number.

Vaccine appointments are available on campus, with doses being administered at the Burney Center, near Fisher Student Center. The most recent batch of appointments will be for April 7 and 8. Like the previous sets of appointments, vaccines administered at the Burney Center will be the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which only requires a single shot for full immunity to be reached after two-weeks by patients.

You can find additional vaccine locations here. 

So far, North Carolina has administered 5,725,032 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which accounts for 38.4% of the state’s adult population having received at least one vaccine dose, as per the North Carolina department of health and human services. 

These numbers leave North Carolina several points above the national average, with the percentage of adults in the United States having received one dose sitting at 32.4% according to the Washington Post.