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Appointments available March 31 and April 6

POLK COUNTY—The Polk County Vaccine Coalition will begin opening appointments for all COVID-19 vaccine groups this week and next at the Meeting Place Senior Center in Columbus on Wednesday and the Tryon International Equestrian Center next Tuesday, April 6. 

Wednesday’s clinic will offer the Moderna vaccine only. 

All groups will be open, but the county’s coalition is continuing to prioritize appointments through the online interest survey, which can be found at a special COVID-19 tab at polknc.org. 

The county is currently prioritizing high-risk individuals and those in marginalized communities, followed by the general community. 

The April 6 event will be all day at TIEC, located in Mill Spring, and will focus first on historically marginalized and underserved populations, including Latinx communities, Hispanic communities and African-American communities. 

The county coalition is working from the interest survey and will connect with community support partners such as True Ridge, churches and other nonprofits, according to county health officials. 

Next Tuesday’s event will include the Pfizer vaccine, which is available to anyone age 16 and older.

Anyone who may need transportation to a vaccine clinic can call Polk County Transportation for a ride at 828-894-8203. 

For more information, people can call the county’s COVID-19 message line at 828-722-5086. 

People can also call the message line to discuss scheduling an appointment to be tested for COVID-19 on a non-drive thru testing day. 

The county is still conducting drive-thru testing days once per week. The schedule for those testing days, where no appointment is needed can be found on the polkncpublichealth Facebook page. There is no cost for the county’s testing or vaccines.