Vaccine efforts ramp up as the Triangle surpasses 200,000 doses

As North Carolina surpassed 1 million administered doses of the COVID-19 vaccine over the past week, the Triangle reached its own milestone, cresting 200,000 doses administered across the region. The two accomplishments came amid some signs of relief as the state continues its fight against the spreading virus.

Under current state distribution guidelines, only health care workers and those aged 65 or older or who live or work in long term care facilities are eligible to receive the vaccine.

Across Wake, Durham, Orange, Johnston and Chatham counties, doses administered reached 213,581 on Friday, according to data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have fallen every day for the past 13 days, DHHS data reports. The same data shows that the percentage of tests returning positive had fallen to 7.4% as of Friday — down from a pandemic high of 17.1% last month.

With more than 1.2 million vaccines administered, and distribution efforts ramping up around the state, here’s a look at how Wake, Durham and Orange counties are doing.

New cases, vaccinations in Wake

In Wake County over the past week, DHHS reported 3,765 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the county’s total to 68,893. The week’s caseload was lower than in the 7-day period before it, in which Wake saw 4,022 new cases.

The state reports that 495 people have died from the virus in Wake County. That’s 68 more than had been reported a week ago, though the days the deaths are reported are not necessarily when they occurred.

An average of 7.7% of tests were returning positive in the county over the past 14 days. That’s higher than the 5% figure state officials have cited as necessary to curb the spread of the virus, but still lower than it was a week ago, when an average of 8.3% of tests were returning positive.

As of Friday, 86,704 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Wake. That’s 20,510 more doses than had been administered a week ago.

The vaccine requires two doses to reach full effectiveness, and as of Friday 21,110 second doses had also been administered in the county — an increase of 8,455 doses.

In an effort to combat racial disparities in the distribution of the vaccine, 16 Raleigh churches and a community center in Southeast Raleigh partnered with WakeMed to bring more than 1,700 doses to diverse communities, The News & Observer reported Saturday.

As of Thursday, Black people had received only 12.6% of first doses, despite making up 23.1% of the state’s population. Hispanic people, who represent 9.8% of North Carolina’s population, only make up 2.3% of those receiving first doses of the vaccine.

On Friday, Wake County Public Health announced it would partner with PNC Arena in Raleigh to open a new, large-scale vaccination site.

Wake County schools will reopen the week of Feb. 15, as in-person classes resume for some students for the first time in nearly a year. The news follows a district survey that found many parents support returning to in-person classes, despite the dangers posed by the pandemic.

And amid a new outbreak at a state prison in Raleigh, more than one in three inmates have contracted COVID-19 as the facility struggles to contain the spread of the virus. It’s Wake Correctional Center’s first outbreak, according to DHHS.

New cases, vaccinations in Durham

In Durham County, DHHS reported 744 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week. That’s fewer than the 876 new cases the county saw the week before.

Since the pandemic began in March, Durham has seen a total of 20,100 cases, according to DHHS data.

The state reports that 181 people in the county have died from the virus — six more than were reported a week ago.

An average of 7.5% of tests were returning positive over the past 14 days in Durham County, according to DHHS data. That’s slightly lower than the 14-day average of 7.6% reported a week ago.

As of Friday, DHHS reported that 34,599 first doses of the vaccine had been administered in Durham — 6,200 more than a week ago. The county saw an additional 3,748 second doses in the past week, bringing its total second doses administered to 11,858.

And as hospitalizations are down across the state, Duke Health has implemented a new healing-at-home approach for some COVID-19 patients — offering them the choice to return home with continued, daily support from the hospital, The N&O reported.

New cases, vaccinations in Orange

In Orange County, DHHS reported 367 new cases of the virus over the past week. That’s slightly fewer than the 380 new cases the county saw the week before.

In total, Orange has seen 7,127 cases in the past year.

There have been 87 deaths from the virus in the county — five of which were reported in the past week.

An average of 2% of tests were returning positive in Orange County over the last two weeks. That’s less than the 14-day average of 2.5% of tests coming back positive a week ago.

As of Friday, 20,193 first doses of the vaccine had been administered across the county. That’s 3,053 more than a week ago. Second doses rose by 2,597 to reach a total of 7,091 doses administered.