SALISBURY — Starting this week, everyone older than 16 can be vaccinated for COVID-19 in Rowan County.

All adults are eligible starting Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced last month. That means the Rowan County Health Department’s weekly vaccination clinic on Thursday is accepting appointments from anyone older than 16. Previously, vaccinations moved through phases, with the elderly and health care workers first in line.

The Rowan Health Department has 1,170 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week.

Vaccination appointments were still available Tuesday morning. To sign up for an appointment, visit rowancountync.gov/1671/First-Dose-Clinics or call 980-432-1800 and select option No. 1. People can also visit their nearest branch of the Rowan Public Library and use a computer or free public Wi-Fi to sign up for an appointment.

The Health Department said in a news release second dose appointments for the first doses administered this week will be Wednesday, April 28. Both clinics will be held in a drive-thru format at West End Plaza, 1935 Jake Alexander Blvd. West in Salisbury.

COVID-19 vaccinations are provided to people at no charge, but people are asked to provide insurance information if they have it so the Rowan County Health Department can be reimbursed for costs to administer the vaccine.

So far, 28,818 Rowan residents have been partially vaccinated and 19,935 are fully vaccinated — 20.3% and 14%, respectively — according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Those numbers put the county among the worst in the state for percent of population vaccinated.

The state average is 30% for partial vaccinations and 19.7% for full vaccinations.

The state’s numbers do not include vaccines administered through the Salisbury VA Health Care System’s facilities in Salisbury, Charlotte or Kernersville. The Salisbury VA has partially vaccinated 27,356 people and fully vaccinated 20,455, but it’s not clear how many live in Salisbury or Rowan County.

There were 19 new COVID-19 cases reported Monday, which makes 392 in the previous two weeks and 15,832 since the start of the pandemic. Statewide, the average number of cases reported each day has hovered between 1,000 and 2,000 new positives per day for the previous month.

There were no new COVID-19 deaths reported in Rowan County on Monday.