COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Feb. 3
Click here for updates for Feb. 4.
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
NC reports record single-day death toll
At least 776,307 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 9,578 have died since March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported 12,079 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,926 the day before. Health officials said Wednesday’s case count was “inflated” due to clinic test results from December and January that were not reported in the past.
On Wednesday, 169 deaths were reported. That’s the highest single-day death toll in the state since the start of the pandemic.
At least 2,706 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Wednesday, down from 2,741 reported on Tuesday. The number of hospitalizations has been dropping steadily since mid-January.
As of Monday, the latest day for which data are available, 14% of coronavirus tests were positive. Health officials say the number should be about 5% or lower to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Wake will return for in-person classes in 2 weeks
The Wake County school board voted Tuesday to allow students to return for in-person instruction the week of Feb. 15.
PreK-3 students and K-12 special education students will return for daily in-person classes, while students in grades 4 through 12 will rotate between in-person and online classes, The News & Observer reported. It will be the first time Wake high school students have had in-person instruction in almost a year.
“In order for a district to be proactive, we have to take some steps forward, and it’s a scary step,” said board member Monika Johnson-Hostler. “It’s a step that I can certainly tell you isn’t a step that I’m making lightly or with ease.“
Frontline workers could get vaccine within weeks
Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said the state could begin vaccinating frontline workers within a month.
North Carolina is currently vaccinating health care workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities and people ages 65 and older. The next group of eligible recipients includes front-line essential workers such as law enforcement officers, teachers, grocery store employees and TSA workers under Phase 3.
COVID-19 vaccines could be made available to that group, which encompasses a large number of people, “at some point in the next month at the latest,” Harris said Wednesday, according to the Charlotte Observer.
“We’re not talking about June or July,” she said. “We’re talking probably more March, April time frame.”
COVID-19 testing slows in Charlotte amid vaccine buzz
Testing for the coronavirus in Charlotte has slowed as more individuals concern themselves with getting the vaccine.
There have been an average of 4,600 COVID-19 tests administered daily in Mecklenburg County, far below the historically-high demand for tests before and after Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Charlotte Observer reported. Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said she wasn’t sure why it has slowed down but said it might be because residents are more concerned with getting vaccinated.
Fewer testing means limited data on the number of people who may be infected with the virus but are not showing any symptoms, according to the Observer.
“We know that there’s still quite a few people who are being infected in our community who are asymptomatic and not seeking testing,” Harris said. “We know that there are a number of people who aren’t responsive (to contact tracing calls) and don’t know that they’ve necessarily been exposed, and aren’t taking testing.”
Walgreens to offer vaccines at 300 NC stores
Starting next week, Walgreens will offer COVID-19 vaccines in North Carolina.
Through its participation in a federal partnership, the pharmacy chain said it will begin Moderna vaccinations in the state on Feb. 12.
Walgreens said it expects to get 31,200 vaccines and bring them to 300 sites across North Carolina. The company chose the locations “based on the medically underserved nature of the surrounding area and CDC social vulnerability index scores,” The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
Anyone interested in receiving a vaccine can schedule an appointment on the Walgreens website. Those eligible include residents ages 65 and older, health care workers who have contact with patients and people who work or live in long-term care centers.
1 in 3 inmates test positive at NC prison
Almost 35% of COVID-19 tests from inmates came back positive at a North Carolina prison, data show.
Wake Correctional Center, a men’s minimum security facility in Raleigh, reported 119 active coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
Statewide, prison officials reported 555 active infections and 1.9% of tests returning positive.
Jonathan Brooks, who is in custody at Wake Correctional Center, said he tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t think the facility was fast enough in curbing the virus’ spread.
“Their negligence has allowed us to be infected,” he said. “They make me feel like my life means nothing to them.”
Brad Deen, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, told the N&O in an email that his agency had protocols “based on medical and epidemiological best practices.”
“The N.C. Department of Public Safety and the Division of Adult Correction/Juvenile Justice take seriously the health and safety of our staff, the people in our custody and the public at large,” Deen said. “We have worked diligently to keep COVID-19 out of our facilities, to monitor for the virus and, when there is a positive test result, to keep anyone who has been exposed from exposing others.”
Data show racial disparities in who gets vaccines in Charlotte
More than two-thirds of people in Mecklenburg County who have received the coronavirus vaccine are white, according to data released Tuesday.
Black people make up 32% of the population in Mecklenburg, but just 16% of people who received the first dose from the health department are Black. By contrast, 69% of people who received a first dose were white. White people comprise about 54% of the county population, The Charlotte Observer reported.
A ZIP code map also shows people living in affluent neighborhoods are receiving the vaccine at a higher rate than others.
“You literally have a tale of two cities,” the Rev. Willie Keaton, chairman of social justice advocacy group Restorative Justice CLT, told the Observer. “You have a deeply segregated city, of rich and poor.”
Famed Raleigh restaurant owner dies from COVID-19
Edward “Big Ed” Watkins died Tuesday morning from COVID-19-related pneumonia at age 88, his wife told The News & Observer. Watkins was the owner of Big Ed’s Restaurant in downtown Raleigh.
He contracted the coronavirus at a rehabilitation facility where he was recovering from a car wreck.
His wife Lynda Watkins said he tested positive for the virus about two weeks ago but said his health had largely improved before he went into cardiac arrest Tuesday.
“They wouldn’t let anyone go to him, because of the COVID,” she said. “That’s what hurts so much.”
Wake parents want to return to in-person classes
The majority of parents in Wake County want to return to in-person instruction as soon as possible, according to a new survey.
Of the more than 33,000 parents surveyed online, most showed support for daily or limited in-person classes, while a large majority voted against delaying in-person classes until COVID-19 metrics in the area improve, The News & Observer reported.
A separate survey of about 10,000 employees showed they were concerned about their safety if in-person instruction returns.
School administrators are expected to present a plan Friday for resuming in-person learning, and the school board could vote on the plan as soon as next week.
Cooper urges schools to reopen
Gov. Roy Cooper is “strongly urging” public school districts in North Carolina to reopen with in-person instruction.
“Students should still have the option of remote learning this school year if that is best for them,” Cooper said. “And teachers who are at risk should be providing that remote instruction. But students who are ready to return to the classrooms should have that chance.”
His comments come after the superintendent of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction told lawmakers early Tuesday that she and Cooper will “sing from the same songbook.”
Catherine Truitt, a Republican who was elected in November, made the announcement regarding reopening public schools during their Council of State meeting on Tuesday.
“This is incredibly important for kids,” she said.
Outbreak at Charlotte homeless shelter
At least 87 coronavirus cases have been linked to a men’s shelter in Charlotte.
Roof Above, which already had been taking precautions to protect against the virus, saw its outbreak grow from five to dozens of cases in a few days span, The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.
“Preventing COVID is about not being around anybody,” said Randall Hitt, the shelter’s chief engagement officer. “So you’re taking a place that you’re just naturally around people and trying to put up all the right protocols.”
The North Tryon Street shelter is the third in the area to experience a recent outbreak, and has moved about 200 men to hotel rooms, according to Hitt.
Meanwhile, Mecklenburg County reported an “overflow” at its hotel designated to give people quarantine space.
Hospitalizations slow in Charlotte area
Hospitalizations related to the coronavirus are expected to continue trending downward in the Charlotte area, even as the hospital count remains high compared to a milder peak in July.
The weekly average of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Mecklenburg County has dropped 14% compared to a month prior, the Charlotte Observer reported.
“We have treated and sent home approximately 10,500 patients during the course of the pandemic, which is just an incredible number,” said Dr. David Priest, Novant Health infectious diseases specialist.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 7:03 AM.
