Martin County health director reports drop from December surge, outlines vaccine supply constraints

MTW District Health Director Wes Gray updated the Martin County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 10, saying the county had recorded 1,976 total COVID-19 cases, 1,757 recoveries, 181 active cases and 38 deaths.

Gray said there were two active outbreaks in the county — Roanoke River Nursing and Rehabilitation and Williamston Primary School — and about 23 Martin County residents were hospitalized. He told the board that case counts had fallen considerably since the late-December surge and that the county had recently moved from red to orange in the state alert system and could move to yellow in an upcoming update.

On vaccinations, Gray said Martin County had administered 3,950 vaccine doses since the county began vaccinations on Dec. 23, 2020, and that roughly 4,800 people remained registered for vaccination. He said the county’s current weekly allocation was about 400 doses, which limited the speed at which the health department could schedule appointments and host larger drive-through events. Gray said staff had hired temporary help to return registration calls and that the health department planned to apply for a grant to secure enough doses for a larger event at Riverside High School.

Commissioner David “Skip” Gurganus asked how residents older than 65 could register; Gray said residents could leave a message for the health department or use an online registration link. The director acknowledged long wait times and described a large volume of phone calls — more than 700 on one recent day — that strained staff capacity.

Gray emphasized that if a resident receives a first dose outside Martin County they should return to the same county for their second dose because vaccine allotments are counted per county.

The update included demographic breakdowns and a vaccination dashboard summary; no board action was required.