LOUISBURG — Organizations across the state are adapting and trying new innovations to help as many people as possible receive the COVID-19 vaccine, including online appointments in Franklin County and partnering with a historically Black church in Wendell.

The Franklin County Health Department moved to an online appointment system for COVID-19 first-dose vaccination appointments Monday.

People who are eligible for their first dose can go to https://www.franklincountync.us. They will be asked a series of questions to confirm eligibility and then book an appointment.

“Demand for the vaccine is far greater than the amount of first-doses we are currently receiving,” said Scott LaVigne, the county health director. “As manufacturers increase production and North Carolina’s allocation rises, we will increase appointments within our system to account for any increased first-dose vaccines Franklin County receives.”

People without a computer should call the health department at 919-729-0654 to schedule an appointment.

In Wake County, Pleasant Grove Baptist Church partnered with the public health team to administer vaccines to around 300 residents at the Carver Center last weekend.

Wendell is a geographic area where COVID-19 deaths and case counts are disproportionately high, the county said. The town has more than 1,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday. Its population as of July 2019 was around 8,500, according to the U.S. Census.

That’s around 20% of the population.

The county has also partnered with historically Black churches in southeast Raleigh, such as Gethsemane Seventh Day Adventist Church, and Latino community groups, such as El Centro Hispano and Amexican, N.C. They are also holding virtual town halls with Black and Latino physicians.

The Wake County COVID-19 website is translated into the top 10 most frequently spoken languages, according to Chair Matt Calabria of the county board of commissioners.

“Our quest for equity isn’t limited to race and ethnicity,” he said. “We’re also focusing on reaching out to other historically marginalized populations, such as shut-ins and those with behavioral health issues.”

Mental health programs, such as the UNC Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program, have partnered with the county to vaccinate people over 65.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccinations in Wake County, visit https://covid19.wakegov.com/vaccine.

More than 1.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the state as of Tuesday, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Around 169,000 of those were given to Wake County residents while Franklin County residents received around 10,000.

In Wake County, most of the people who have received both doses are healthcare workers between 25-49, around 30%, and seniors 65 and older, around 51%. Around 77% were white.

In Franklin County, around 67% were 65 and older with around19& being between 25-49. Around 84% were white.