On April 16th, 2021 NC Department of Health and Human Services hosted a webinar to announce the new allocations process for the COVID-19 vaccine. North Carolina will be shifting to a new allocations process where providers are asked to request the number of first doses of vaccine they would like for the coming week. Click here to download PDF of webinar slides.
Actions Required:
- This email includes a lot of important information, so please read it in full. It will cover the following:
- Allocations Process
- Specific Allocation Logistics
- Allocation Expectations
- Complete the allocation request form, linked here: https://nc.readyop.com/fs/4deO/90be, no later than Wednesday, April 21 at 12PM ET to request first doses for your provider location.
- Failure to submit the form by the deadline will result in no first doses being allocated for the week of April 26.
- Please request the number of doses of Moderna or Pfizer you would like allocated for the week of April 26. Requests MUST be in the minimum shipment increments of 100 for Moderna and 1170 for Pfizer. The State will make an effort to honor provider requests, but all brand and volume requests are not guaranteed.
- Requested doses should include all doses your provider location intends to administer for the coming week, including scheduled appointments, walk-ins, and community events. Please note elimination of separate event request process.
- Allocations ordered for the week of April 26 will ship to the provider location on Monday or Tuesday (April 26 or April 27). Please note the shift in vaccine shipment.
New Allocations Process
Each week, providers will be asked to request allocation for the coming week. For the week of April 26, we ask that all activated and approved providers who would like vaccine for the week of April 26 please complete the allocation request form, linked here: https://nc.readyop.com/fs/4deO/90be no later than Wednesday, April 21 at 12PM ET to request first doses.
The attached spreadsheet (“Provider Allocation Reference Point 4.20.2021”) will help inform the number of first doses your provider location requests. It shows the following:
- Columns I-J: Prior 4-week allocation actuals, minimum, and maximum
- Column K: Equity Series Allocation
- Please include this amount in your weekly request, you will not be awarded additional doses on top of your weekly request for the Equity Allocation Series.
- Column L: Prior 7-day administration daily average (first doses)
- Column M: Prior 4-week weekly administration average (first doses)
- Column N-O: Minimum State Order Commitment
- This is the minimum number of first doses that North Carolina will guarantee to each provider for the week of April 26.
- Providers who have never received allocation before are indicated with a ‘*’. Providers with a ‘*’ are guaranteed 50 doses, based on the assumption that they would order 100 doses every other week.
Providers will receive this attachment weekly to help inform their decision to request allocations.
- Failure to request doses each week by the deadline will result in no doses being allocated to the provider location. First doses of vaccine outlined in that allocation will arrive at the provider’s location on Monday or Tuesday of the following week.
- Providers must use 70% of allocated vaccine by Tuesday at 6PM ET the week after arrival. If not, the State reserves the right to withhold or only partially fulfill allocation requests for the following week. Please only request the amount of vaccine that your site can administer between April 26 and May 3.
- If your provider location cannot administer 100 doses in a single week, please request doses on an as-needed basis.
- For example, if you can only administer 50 doses per week, please request 100 doses in Week 1, then zero doses in Week 2, then 100 doses again in Week 3.
- Only one request from each provider location should be submitted. If there are multiple responses for your location, we will use the most recent form response submitted.
- Second doses will continue to be ordered automatically to correspond to the first doses allocated to your location.
Similar to the current notification process, providers will be notified of their fulfilled allocation request prior to the vaccine shipment. The provided allocation number will be final, no further action will be required from providers and no changes can be made.
Specific Allocation Logistics
Providers who are unable to receive or administer the current large allotments of vaccine (1170 Pfizer and 100 Moderna) can work with nearby providers to transfer vaccine in smaller quantities. For example, transfers of small amounts of Pfizer to providers who care for adolescents (e.g., Family Medicine or Pediatric Primary Care) are a great way to help vaccinate 16 and 17 years olds. Because Pfizer ships in units of 1,170 doses and Moderna ships in units of 100 doses, the splits between counties and between providers within a county will never be exactly equal.
Equity Allocation Series: Since we will be moving to this new request-based allocation process, we will be sunsetting the special COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Allocation Series, once the current series ends the week of April 26. We ask that vaccine providers account for any proposed equity or other events as part of their overall first-dose requests.
Community Events: We will also be sunsetting the previous community events process and survey. Instead, we ask that vaccine providers account for any proposed community events as part of their overall first-dose requests. We continue to encourage vaccine providers to plan community-based events that promote equity, build and strengthen community partnerships, and create greater access for all North Carolinians. If you have already submitted a one time or recurring event application for an event in the future, it is null and void. Please continue to list your events on the State’s Vaccine Finder [myspot.nc.gov].
Allocation Expectations
As outlined previously, providers must be ready to follow these expectations to request allocation:
- Providers should fully enter vaccine administrations into CVMS within 24 hours, but no later than 72 hours.
- If you are experiencing difficulty entering data into CVMS and need assistance clearing a data backlog, please reach out to your County Emergency Manager to request assistance through WebEOC.
- COVID-19 vaccine can only be transferred to other COVID-19 vaccination providers in CVMS. Physical transfer of vaccine must not be initiated until the transfer has been approved in CVMS.
- Vaccine cannot be restricted based on county of residency. People should not be required to present identification to verify age or residency.
- The percentage of vaccine administered to historically marginalized and minority populations should meet or exceed the population estimates of these communities in their county and region. Providers should engage in partnerships and targeted outreach to vaccinate historically marginalized populations and meet this goal.
- Providers should ensure the allocation setting in CVMS is up to date each week and indicates whether the location does or does not wish to be request vaccine allocation for the following week (user guide linked here for specific instructions on pages 24-25). Vaccine request forms will only be sent to providers with their CVMS button turned to ‘Yes.’ Information will be pulled each Monday at 10AM ET. Remember, your selection will not reset or change unless you change it.
If providers cannot meet these expectations, NCDHHS will not be able to continue allocating supply to the provider.
Vaccine-specific reference notes are highlighted below:
Moderna-Specific Reference Notes:
- Moderna vaccine must be shipped in units of 100.
- Providers will receive notices of Moderna vaccine shipment from McKesson directly.
- Moderna products may have additional doses in the vial, and it is acceptable to use all FULL doses in the vials.
Pfizer-Specific Reference Notes:
- Pfizer vaccine must be shipped in units of 1,170 with six doses per vial.
- Providers will receive a confirmation email from Pfizer and UPS, and then a shipment notification email from Pfizer and UPS with tracking details and an estimated time of arrival. If you do not receive the shipment tracking emails and your site has a Vaccine For Children (VFC) program, please contact your VFC program shipping contact to see if they received the emails. The current expectation is that ancillary kits will arrive the same day and dry ice recharges (unless opt out) the next day.
- Pfizer products may have additional doses in the vial, and it is acceptable to use all FULL doses in the vials. Ancillary kits for Pfizer vaccine have been expanded to reflect quantities to support six doses per vial.
Thank you for all of your hard work and time towards North Carolina’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
Click here to download PDF of webinar slides.