CLAIM: North Carolina National Guard troops are going to people’s homes in a door-to-door campaign to administer COVID-19 vaccines
TRUTH: The Johnston County Health Department has gone door-to-door alongside National Guard troops in “underserved” communities to invite residents to their mobile vaccine clinics
Is the North Carolina National Guard going to show up at your door and offer you a vaccine? Probably not, but it did happen to some residents of Johnston County. The National Guard has been assisting the Johnston County Health Department with it’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts:
The National Guard has been on site at the Health Department since January 19, 2021. Their job is to assist the JCHD by processing new COVID cases, facilitating vaccination clinics across the County and handling administrative work related to vaccinations. They have been a great partner in helping manage the COVID outbreak in our community.
Adam Carroll, Public Information Director for Johnston County
In June, as vaccination rates slowed, Johnston County opted for a more directed approach, bringing vaccines to “underserved populations”. As a June 11 press release notes, “the Health Department went door-to-door to offer the vaccine to residents that were interested”.
As we can see from the included photo, at least one uniformed member of the National Guard participated in this door-to-door outreach.
I confirmed with both Mr. Carroll and the NC National Guard Public Affairs that the National Guardsmen assisting with the COVID-19 vaccination effort were doing so solely in an unarmed capacity. In addition, these visits appear only to have occurred in the immediate vicinity of a limited number of mobile vaccination clinics. The National Guard Public Affairs officer I spoke to told me he was not aware of any program to go to people’s residences and provide a vaccine.
I’ll end with a final statement I received from Mr. Carroll, the Public Information Director for Johnston County:
The Johnston County Health Department is not currently going door to door to promote the vaccine. Our goal from day one has been to make the vaccine accessible and available to all residents of Johnston County. Those efforts include reaching out to underserved populations and those that don’t have adequate transportation to reach a vaccination site. We believe getting vaccinated is a personal choice. We will also continue to encourage the public to get vaccinated to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Johnston County.
Adam Carroll, Public Information Director for Johnston County
