The goal of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is to get at least two-thirds of adults in the state vaccinated. Then, he said, he will be ready to lift the state's mask mandate.

As of Wednesday, about half of all adults in the state have had at least one coronavirus vaccine shot and about 42% are fully vaccinated, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Now that vaccine supplies are increasing in North Carolina and nationwide, the hard part is moving from getting a spot to get a shot to convincing people who are hesitating to get the vaccine.

The state is also doubling down on it's effort to make it easy for everyone to get vaccinated, especially in traditionally underserved communities.

“Vaccines are the key to putting this pandemic behind us and coming out even stronger on the other side,” Gov. Cooper said while visiting a vaccination center in Charlotte.

Cooper and DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen visited the Medic vaccine clinic Wednesday, which the governor's office said is "in one of Mecklenburg County’s zip codes with the greatest need."

“Vaccines will help us end the pandemic and are the best protection there is against serious illness, hospitalization and death from this virus,” Cohen said. “Partnerships like this one that provide vaccines on site to those who can travel and also take vaccine to people who need more support will help us protect more people from the dangers of COVID-19.”

The clinic operates in a way that people can go there to get vaccinated, but it's also a hub for staff to take doses out to those who are homebound in the community. The clinic is in a county EMS facility in Charlotte.  

The vaccination efforts at the clinic, part of the biggest vaccination campaign in United States history, involves county public health staff, National Guard, EMS and emergency management staff.

Since the pandemic began, more than 12,700 people in North Carolina have died from the virus, according to DHHS data.

State public health officials are aiming to have two-thirds of adults in North Carolina vaccinated to lift the mask mandate.

But, in the meantime, Cooper plans to lift many capacity and other restrictions on businesses by June 1.

Cooper has already loosened some restrictions on businesses and gatherings, and lifted the outdoor mask mandate.

As of April 30, the limit for outdoor gatherings went up from 50 to 100, and for outdoor, that number went from 100 to 200.

“While our numbers are mostly stable, we have more work to do to beat back this pandemic,” the governor said last week. “Let’s work hard in May and get as many people vaccinated as we can before summer gets here.”

Many vaccine sites have open appointement slots for people, a major change from just a month ago when people were having trouble getting a date for a shot. Some vaccination sites are starting to allow walk-ins.

For more information on getting a vaccine, visit YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov (English) or Vacunate.nc.gov (Spanish) or call 888-675-4567.