Dentists given authority to administer COVID-19 vaccine, per executive order
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RALEIGH, NC (WLOS) — During a press conference Tuesday, Feb. 9 in which Gov. Roy Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, NCDHHS secretary, outlined strategies going forward that will provide equitable access of the COVID-19 vaccine to all North Carolina residents, Cooper included one of the strategies would be involving dentists.
With the issuing of Executive Order 193, Cooper expanded providers in the state with authority to administer the vaccine by incorporating dentists licensed in N.C. to the provider group.
The order amends and extends EOs 130 and 139 in giving the NCDHHS secretary the authority to declare types of providers who may have the authority to administer FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
The order also directs state officials to marshal all state resources — including property, facilities and personnel — upon request by NCDHHS, towards vaccination efforts.
The North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative, a program of the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI), joined with the governor’s office to finalize the details of the executive order.
Dentists are “a valuable component of an interdisciplinary approach to bringing the spread of the virus under control,” NCOHC said in a statement on Feb. 10.
“Getting the vaccine to as many people, as quickly and safely as possible, is something dentists are uniquely positioned to do,” said Dr. Zachary Brian, director of NCOHC.
According to the American Dental Association, North Carolina joins more than 20 states in including dentists in their COVID-19 vaccination workforces, with Cooper’s executive order.
The move comes as one of many efforts by the state to focus not solely on getting the vaccine out quickly, but in an equitable distribution process so that those most vulnerable to the virus receive the vaccine first. This includes the 65-and-older population, but also communities of color, as studies from the last year have shown.
“Speed is critical, but we are also emphasizing equity,” Cooper said in a press conference on Feb. 9. “Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by this devastating pandemic, and the state is working to reduce the high rates of sickness this population is experiencing.”
“We are embedding equity into all aspects of our vaccine plan and holding ourselves and vaccine providers accountable for ensuring that underserved and marginalized communities have access to vaccines,” Cohen said during the press conference Tuesday.
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