NC reports its second-highest daily COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began
North Carolina reported 1,230 statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, the second highest total since the pandemic began.
July 29 had the highest, single-day hospitalization count, 1,236, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services.
For Tuesday’s total, 96% of hospitals across North Carolina reported their hospitalizations.
The state reported 2,582 newly confirmed cases, the 10th highest daily increase since the pandemic began in March. That brought the seven-day average increase to a record 2,438. The previous record was set Monday.
Out of the nearly 30,000 tests statewide reported on Tuesday, 7.5% returned positive, the highest since Oct. 25.
The seven-day average for the percentage of tests returned positive was 6.7% Saturday, the latest day for available data from DHHS. State health officials have said they want that number at or below 5%.
There have now been 297,442 confirmed coronavirus cases in the the state.
As of Tuesday, 4,660 North Carolinians have died from COVID-19, an increase of 45 from Monday.
Promising vaccine
Pfizer and BioNTech, a German company, announced the results of their COVID-19 vaccine trial, finding their vaccine to be 90% effective.
In their press release, Pfizer stated they have not encountered any safety concerns out of the over 43,000 people who participated in human clinical trials since July.
They said they will continue to monitor those vaccinated for up two years after receiving the vaccine.
Pfizer said that they will be able to produce 50 million vaccine doses this year and 1.3 billion next year.
For vaccination to work, people will have to take two doses a few weeks apart, meaning the number of doses produced will vaccinate half that many.
Mutations of the virus will not hinder the effectiveness of a vaccine, according to a study from UNC-Chapel Hill, The N&O reported.
It is uncertain when the Pfizer vaccination will be available to the general public. Its continued effectiveness also remains to be seen.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 12:40 PM.