COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Feb. 10
Click here for updates for Feb. 11.
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
NC adds over 100 new deaths
At least 805,898 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 10,046 have died since March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported 3,833 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,786 the day before.
At least 135 additional deaths were added to the total Wednesday. Deaths don’t occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.
At least 2,291 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Wednesday, down from 2,377 day before. Tuesday was the first time the state reported an increase in statewide hospitalizations since Jan. 29.
As of Monday, the latest day for which data are available, 7.9% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say the number should be about 5% or lower to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
UNC seeks to better enforce COVID rules
Officials from the town of Chapel Hill and UNC Chapel Hill met Wednesday to discuss compliance with coronavirus rules after about 1,000 students rushed Franklin Street following the UNC-Duke basketball game on Saturday.
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said they are discussing options for UNC’s home game against Duke on March 6 and the ACC Tournament, The News & Observer reported. Officials are also drafting an agreement to enforce community standards off campus, including at fraternity and sorority houses.
UNC is reviewing about 300 complaints from Saturday night, though Hemminger noted most students will get a warning for a first offense.
Danny Bowen, a UNC senior and student government chief of staff, said students’ actions after the game damages the university’s relationship with the town.
“I think there was a lot of anger among students, like why wouldn’t administrators see this coming, why wouldn’t we be more prepared for this,” Bowen said. “But at the same time, would you put up more physical barriers, increase the messaging? … It’s hard to say what exactly could have prevented the gathering.”
Teachers will be eligible for vaccine this month
Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that teachers, childcare center employees and school support staff will be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine starting Feb. 24.
Other frontline workers under Group 3 can receive the vaccine on March 10, Cooper said. Frontline workers encompass everyone who physically has to go to work and includes first responders, farm workers, restaurant employees and grocery store workers in addition to teachers.
“Essential workers are just that, essential,” Cooper said. “They have worked throughout this pandemic and we know that educators can continue to work safely even before the vaccine is administered, as long as schools follow health guidance.”
Health officials have said the vaccine supply in North Carolina is low. About 1.1 million people statewide have received the first dose of the vaccine, The News & Observer reported, while close to 370,000 people have received both doses.
In Charlotte, Novant Health started working with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to administer the vaccine to teachers who were already eligible — meaning ages 65 and up, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Mecklenburg County Public Health as well as Charlotte’s two main hospital systems are currently offering the vaccine. Walgreens will also be distributing the vaccine at several locations on Friday.
Wake high school students prepare to return
High school students in Wake County will return for in-person instruction next week for the first time since March, but teachers and administrators have warned it won’t look the same.
Under the district’s return plan, PreK-3 and K-12 special education students will have daily in-person instruction. Grades four through 12 will rotate one week of in-person classes with two weeks of online learning, The News & Observer reported. About 52% of the district’s students will have in-person classes this semester while the rest attend the Virtual Academy.
While high school students are on campus, they’ll be required to wear masks and are discouraged from making contact with others.
They won’t be allowed to leave for lunch and will have socially distanced lunch periods where they can’t talk or socialize with classmates, according to The N&O.
“The students know that it’s not going to be school as normal,” said Stephen Mares, principal of Athens Drive High School in Raleigh. “It’s not going to be students coming into the hallways and hanging with friends. It’s not going to be sitting around a cafeteria table with six of your best friends talking, joking.
“That’s going to be different and students have to realize that yes it’s school and we love having you back and we’re so fired up to have you here. But it’s not going to be school like it was on March 13.”
Triangle hospitals urge workers to get vaccinated
Hospitals in the Raleigh area are trying to convince health care workers to get COVID-19 vaccines as about one-fourth of their employees haven’t gotten shots.
While the state said it doesn’t know how many of the 452,000 eligible medical workers were vaccinated, Triangle hospitals say at least 70% of people working on the front lines have started receiving doses.
As medical centers urge eligible workers to get vaccinated, more people are reaching out to make appointments, The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
“Initially, we did have a lot of hesitancy,” said Amanda Edwards of WakeMed. “People said, ‘Well, I’ll let others go first.’ Now those folks are coming to us saying that they’re ready to receive their vaccination.”
Cooper signs COVID relief bill
Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday signed a COVID-19 relief bill with money that goes toward distributing vaccines and reopening schools for in-person classes.
The bill also extends the deadline until May 31 for parents to submit applications for $335 Extra Credit grant checks, The News & Observer reported.
In all, the bill calls for spending $2.24 billion in federal funds.
“This pandemic continues to strain communities across our state, and this investment of federal funds in critical areas will help us defeat COVID-19 and build back a stronger and more resilient North Carolina,” Cooper said in a statement.
NC restaurant industry asks for new relief
An industry hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic is pushing state leaders to provide new relief.
The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association is asking elected officials for a $300 million stimulus that would go to struggling hotels, bars and restaurants.
“At the close of 2020, we began to look at and analyze the effects of COVID on our industry, and what we found was staggering,” said Lynn Minges, president of the association. “What became clear, our industry suffered significantly in the pandemic and the relief hasn’t been coming.”
Some of the other proposals include waiving Alcoholic Beverage Control permits and exempting personal protective equipment from sales taxes, The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
Senate passes bill requiring in-person learning option
The state Senate voted 29-15 on Tuesday in favor of a bill requiring public K-12 schools to give some in-person instruction.
Republicans and two Democrats voted to pass the bill, which now moves to the state House of Representatives.
Under the bill, school districts would be required to offer a full-time, in-person instruction option — known as Plan A — to students with special needs, and either Plan A or Plan B, which requires 6 feet of social distancing, to all students.
Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have agreed students should return to in-person learning as soon as possible but disagree on when that should be, The News & Observer reported.
Sen. Deanna Ballard, a Watauga County Republican and co-chair of the Senate education committee, said last week remote learning has resulted in learning loss for some students and is making kids more anxious and depressed. But some Democrats expressed concern over allowing middle and high school students to go back under Plan A, which has minimal social distancing.
Oral drug could be used to prevent, treat COVID-19 infections
An oral drug tested by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill has shown to be “extremely effective” at preventing and treating COVID-19 infections, according to a study published Tuesday in the scientific journal Nature.
The drug, EIDD-2801, was tested on human lung tissue implanted in mice and prevented the virus from reproducing.
“This is something that is giving us hope that there might be an alternative that can be available in addition to the vaccine to help with the pandemic,” J. Victor Garcia, the director of UNC’s International Center for the Advancement of Translational Science and the paper’s senior author, told The News & Observer.
EIDD-2801 would not take the place of vaccines because it does not offer long-term protection. But it could be helpful in long-term care facilities to curb the course of someone’s illness while also preventing infection in those around them.
The drug was licensed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, which is partnering with Merck on its development.
Company that makes remdesivir to add NC jobs
A biotechnology company that makes the COVID-19 treatment remdesivir is adding almost 300 jobs in the Raleigh area.
California-based Gilead Sciences plans to bring the workers to a Wake County office in the next two years, The News & Observer reported Tuesday.
The N.C. Economic Investment Committee approved a nearly $10 million incentive package, which requires Gilead to reach specific milestones for investment and hiring.
“We are eager to welcome many of the highly talented, highly skilled people who live in the Research Triangle region to work with us as we seek to advance new medicines for people with unmet medical needs,” Andrew Dickinson, chief financial officer for the company, said in a statement.
Charlotte receives COVID-19 relief funds
The Charlotte City Council on Monday directed $27 million in federal relief money to help with housing costs during the coronavirus pandemic.
The RAMPCLT program is expected to help 15,000 customers pay utilities and 5,300 households with rent. Residents who are eligible include those with a risk of losing housing and those experiencing pandemic-related income losses, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Applications for housing assistance opened Tuesday, and program information is outlined at rampclt.com.
UNC apologizes after video of maskless players surfaces
The UNC men’s basketball team apologized in a joint statement on Tuesday after two Tar Heel players were seen not wearing masks in a video celebrating their win over Duke.
“Our intention was to celebrate privately within our group,” players and managers said in the statement. “Unfortunately, we allowed several friends who are not members of the team to join the gathering. We were inside and not wearing masks, which were mistakes. We apologize for not adhering to the University’s and athletic department’s guidelines and apologize to Coach Williams and his staff for not stepping forward when he first addressed it with us on Sunday. We have worked too hard for eight months doing the right things to make those kinds of mistakes at this point in the season.”
The apology comes after personnel from UNC and the University of Miami Hurricanes decided to postpone their game Monday night. The schools “mutually concluded the game could not move forward today,” the ACC said in a news release.
Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga said a video showing UNC players Day’Ron Sharpe and Armando Bacot with no masks at a gathering led to the postponement, the Miami Herald reported.
UNC leaders on Monday also continued to share their disappointment after about 1,000 people crowded Franklin Street last weekend to celebrate the Tar Heels’ win over Duke.
“As of Monday morning, Student Conduct has received more than 300 referrals since Saturday night,” said Amy Johnson, vice chancellor for student affairs.
NC not prioritizing teacher vaccinations now
North Carolina is prioritizing people ages 65 and older before giving COVID-19 vaccines to teachers.
The state has limited doses of the vaccine, and it could take a “few weeks” until teachers and other frontline workers can get their shots, according to Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We want to get people 65 and older vaccinated because that’s where we’re seeing 83% of the deaths right now in North Carolina from COVID-19,” Gov. Roy Cooper said last week.
Advocacy groups have pushed Cooper to give school workers higher spots in the vaccine line. Some North Carolina school districts have partnered with health departments to get their employees vaccinated.
In Charlotte, an upcoming vaccination clinic is set to include some teachers from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Dr. David Priest, an infectious disease expert at Novant Health, said the hospital system is teaming up with the district to identify teachers ages 65 and older.
The vaccine event, scheduled for Saturday at the Spectrum Center, isn’t accepting appointments from the general public, The Charlotte Observer reported.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 7:21 AM.
