COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Jan. 22
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Case count tops 705,000
At least 705,535 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 8,464 have died since March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 7,436 new COVID-19 cases, up from 7,187 the day before.
On Friday, 125 coronavirus-related deaths were reported.
At least 3,512 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Friday. That’s down from the 3,667 patients reported Thursday.
As of Wednesday, the latest day for which data are available, 10.1% of coronavirus tests came back positive. Health officials say the number should be about 5% to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Close to 350 UNC students, employees test positive
At least 112 students at UNC-Chapel Hill tested positive for the coronavirus before they returned for the spring semester, officials said.
All undergraduates were required to submit a negative test result before they could move into their dorms or start classes. The university reported its first cluster of six COVID-19 cases last week among students who stayed over winter break.
UNC’s COVID-19 dashboard shows about 260 students and 83 employees have tested positive for the virus this month, The News & Observer reported.
Biden’s order to OSHA is ‘game changer’ for NC workers
One of 10 executive orders President Joe Biden signed on his first full day in office directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue new guidance to employers on protecting workers from COVID-19.
Advocates say those guidelines will be a “game changer” for workers in North Carolina.
The order also jump starts a national program intended to strengthen OSHA enforcement related to coronavirus violations and requires OSHA to consider temporary emergency standards regarding COVID-19 — including making masks mandatory in the workplace, The News & Observer reported.
“For workers in North Carolina that have very little protections right now from the state, this is a game changer,” said Debbie Berkowitz, director of the Worker Safety and Health program at the National Employment Law Project and former chief of staff at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
State health officials have reported 348 coronavirus clusters in North Carolina workplaces during the pandemic. Those included more than 7,700 cases and at least 34 deaths.
What to know about flu shots and COVID-19 vaccine
Health experts say it’s not too late to get a flu shot given that flu season typically lasts until April or May, but it should be separated from the coronavirus vaccine.
Dr. David Weber, a professor of medicine, pediatrics and epidemiology at the UNC School of Medicine and UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, told The News & Observer people should wait at least two weeks between getting the flu shot and the COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC recommendations.
That’s in part because patients who participated in the clinical trial didn’t receive any other vaccines in the two weeks before or after their series, according to Dr. Anita Skariah, internist and pediatrician at UNC Health.
“We want to mimic the conditions as close as possible to the trials to ensure safety and efficacy until we know more,” she said.
Mobile hospital deployed to Pineville
Atrium Health announced this week that it’s sending a mobile hospital to Pineville, where weekly average data through Jan. 14 shows the ICU capacity was at 103%.
The MED-1 mobile hospital was first used in 2005 to support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Mississippi, The Charlotte Observer reported. It will now be used to treat patients with “less critical needs.”
“By deploying Atrium Health MED-1, we are able to create a more than 40 percent increase in emergency department capacity, which is especially important as we care for our patients and community during this pandemic,” Mike Lutes, senior vice president and South Market president for Atrium Health, said in a statement.
Mecklenburg County has reported a slight decline in coronavirus-related hospitalizations. The average number of people in the hospital for the virus this week was 511, down from 530 over the week prior.
Still, health officials say the pandemic is far from over.
”We’ll take any degree of relief we can get at this point,” Novant Health infectious diseases specialist Dr. David Priest said Friday. “We’re moving in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.”
NC prisons expand COVID-19 quarantine program
North Carolina plans to open a second location to house people released from prison under a pilot COVID-19 quarantine program.
The program is run by the N.C. Department of Public Safety and started with a motel in Durham, but conditions at the facility have raised some legal questions and complaints, The News & Observer reported.
The new location will be at a DPS facility in Black Mountain in Western North Carolina. The facility, which was previously home to a drug and alcohol treatment program for women on probation, will hold women being released from prison under the quarantine program.
Department spokesperson Greg Thomas said women will be held at the facility for 14 days before they can return to their home counties.
The expansion comes as the first location — Quality Inn & Suites on Hillsborough Road — has come under fire from advocacy groups that say it is unsanitary with insufficient medical supplies. Many of the people staying there still fear contracting the coronavirus, according to The N&O.
Vaccine clinic starts at NC speedway
Thousands of people are expected to receive COVID-19 vaccines this weekend during an event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
More than 16,000 people are set to get vaccinated at the sporting venue, which is partnering with Atrium Health, Honeywell and Tepper Sports & Entertainment.
While appointments are full, another similar vaccine event is being planned “in the near future” at Bank of America Stadium, home to the Carolina Panthers.
Also on Friday, Mecklenburg County Public Health is also offering shots at C.W. Williams Community Health Center.
Under North Carolina’s vaccine plan, residents eligible to receive doses include people ages 65 and older, health care workers, and those who work or live in long-term care centers.
Mecklenburg County faces complaints about park rules
Two leaders in the Charlotte area want Mecklenburg County to reconsider coronavirus-related limits that were recently placed on recreation opportunities.
Temporarily, parks close at dusk and other centers are closed to the public as Public Health Director Gibbie Harris announced a directive urging people to stay home. It also calls for residents to halt indoor group workouts and close-contact sports, The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday.
The directive is set to end in less than two weeks but could continue. In the meantime, some county commissioners said they have been flooded with complaints about changes at parks.
“As long as our numbers are as high as they are, everybody is at risk, and that’s why we’re asking people for a short period of time to consider staying home unless it’s absolutely necessary or essential for them to be out,” the health director said.
In the Charlotte area, hospitalizations continue to increase, with the average number of patients reaching 540. The positivity rate for COVID-19 testing is down to 12.4% but still above state officials’ goal of 5%.
Johnston teachers call for virtual class extension
Johnston County teachers say they want students to continue taking online classes until school workers are vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Triangle district is expected to resume face-to-face instruction for many of its 36,000 students on Feb. 1, The News & Observer reported.
Speakers at a news conference on Wednesday said the district should continue in-person classes only when all workers can get vaccinated, the district shares virus-related data and social distancing is “guaranteed.”
Johnston County Schools in a statement said it can’t guarantee 6 feet of distancing at all times. The district gave 40 vaccine doses to employees on Tuesday, with plans to give more in the months ahead.
People opposed to delaying in-person instruction have said some students are struggling to learn online.
Also in the Triangle, Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools on Thursday again delayed a decision about making a schedule for the transition to in-person classes. Some students won’t return to the classroom until after the end of spring break in April, The News & Observer reported.
In Raleigh, a private school said it was halting face-to-face instruction for two weeks due to new coronavirus cases. Cardinal Gibbons High School made the announcement Thursday in a letter to families.
NC aims to use entire vaccine supply each week
Health officials are trying to use up the state’s supply of the coronavirus vaccine each week, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
North Carolina receives about 120,000 doses of the vaccine each week, and hospitals and health departments can expect to see the same amount from week to week. The state also encourages them to have a waiting list if they run out.
“Our goal is to make sure we are using up all of the vaccine that is given to the state before the next shipment comes so we can demonstrate to the federal government that we are using our vaccine,” Cohen said.
Providers typically learn each Friday how much of the vaccine they will get. They’ve been instructed to use everything they have on hand by Monday or Tuesday, and new shipments usually arrive on Wednesday.
More than 424,000 first doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in North Carolina.
Child abuse reports drop during pandemic
Reports of child abuse in Triangle counties and placements in foster families statewide have plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from state and local child welfare agencies.
Those declines would usually be a positive sign, but experts fear job losses, psychological challenges and health issues associated with the pandemic have actually driven up child abuse and neglect cases, The News & Observer reported.
“The prevalence of abuse is very likely off the charts, and we are going to see the domino effect for a very long period of time to come,” said Cristin DeRonja, executive director of SAFEchild, a Raleigh agency working to eliminate child abuse in Wake County.
Child abuse reports in Wake, Durham and Orange counties dropped roughly 15% compared to the same period in 2019.
Overall reports returned to pre-coronavirus levels after virtual school started, according to Paige Rosemond, director of Wake County’s child welfare division. But reports from teachers and school employees remained low.
Funding to help people reach vaccination sites
The N.C. Department of Transportation is giving $2.5 million to local transit agencies to help people get to COVID-19 vaccination sites.
“Lack of transportation shouldn’t be the reason someone doesn’t receive their shot,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said Thursday at a news conference.
Transit agencies in all North Carolina counties will get funding, which is intended to be used for getting people to vaccine sites for administering or receiving doses.
The announcement comes as some older adults say they are frustrated about the vaccine roll out. North Carolina officials have urged people to be patient as there isn’t enough vaccine supply to fill the demand.
New freezers to help with vaccine distribution
Six schools in the University of North Carolina System received mobile freezers that can be used for storing the COVID-19 vaccine.
The schools, all historically minority-serving institutions, are among the 15 campuses set to receive freezers in the upcoming months, The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
The freezers will allow North Carolina to store 1.86 million more vials, each of which hold six to seven doses of the vaccine. That means they will help the state get more people vaccinated in a shorter time.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 7:05 AM.
