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January 22 - February 4, 2021 Vol. 22, No. 2
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WEB EXCLUSIVE Flight plan
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Apartment-ready
Multifamily sector on the rise Page 12
Tracking trucks
A look at food truck trends Page 19
PHOTO C/O NEW HANOVER COUNTY
Index Economic Indicators .............................. 3 Technology ............................................. 4 The List ............................................5, 15 Hospitality ............................................. 6 In Profile................................................. 9 Real Estate..................................... 12-13 Business of Life.............................. 18-19
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Vaccinated: A New Hanover County public health nurse receives a dose of the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 22.
GIVING IT A SHOT
VACCINE SHORTAGE, HESITANCY MIGHT STIFLE IMMUNITY EFFORT BY NEIL COTIAUX aced with a limited supply of vaccines to help eradicate a pandemic that knows no end and an ongoing hesitation on the part of some individuals to be vaccinated, leaders in government, business, higher education and neighborhoods are starting to roll out plans to convince as many people as possible to get inoculated once supplies become more plentiful. Where once federal officials said 60% to 70% of the U.S. population needed to develop resistance to COVID-19 to eradicate it, the country’s go-to guru on the virus, Anthony Fauci, has now raised the bar for “herd immunity” to 80%. Fauci’s stretch goal comes as surveys show a large percentage of Americans are either on the fence about taking a jab or are unwilling
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to do so. In a November survey of 12,648 adults by Pew Research Center, only 61% of white respondents and just 42% of Black respondents said they would “definitely or probably” get vaccinated. About 18% of the survey group said they wanted more information before making a final decision. Along with a slow start in inoculations, the gap between public need and public acceptance places added pressure on civic leaders to convince people to get vaccinated.
PHASED APPROACH
The first shipments of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines arrived in New Hanover County in December. Vaccination will be accomplished in five phases and is expected to take at least nine months, said Phillip Tarte, the
county’s public health director. The federal government ships vaccines to states each week, with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services determining the quantities received at the local level as the agency helps localities address any staff shortages or data entry issues. To move things along, Brig. Gen. Jeff Copeland said the N.C. National Guard is dispatching “immunization strike teams” to “large metropolitan areas where requested” and smaller rural counties. Working with health providers, team members inject patients, record their data and handle logistics. COVID-19 vaccines are being made available at no cost to all North Carolinians, regardless of insurance. In early January, New Hanover County and Brunswick County See VACCINE, page 10
