COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in NC on March 1
Click here for updates for March 2.
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases surpass 862,000
At least 862,170 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 11,254 have died since March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported 1,466 new COVID-19 cases, down from 2,156 reported the day before.
Forty-two deaths were reported Monday. Deaths don’t all occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.
At least 1,319 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Monday, down from 1,351 the day before.
As of Saturday, the latest date for which data are available, 5.5% of COVID-19 tests came back positive. Health officials have said 5% is the target rate to control the spread of the virus.
More than 2.3 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in North Carolina.
The state health department did not provide a coronavirus update Sunday as changes were being implemented to improve “system performance,” its website said.
Test results show students aren’t doing as well as before COVID
Test results from this school year show North Carolina students are doing worse than they were before the pandemic.
Statewide, three-quarters of third graders aren’t proficient in reading, according to data that is expected to be shared at a State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday.
Also, most high schoolers didn’t pass end-of-course exams in the fall. But the N.C. Department of Public Instruction said students can take exams until July 5, so data from last fall isn’t comparable to the one before, The News & Observer reported.
Last week, the state House passed a bill that calls for requiring school systems to offer summer programs for children falling behind during the coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s a lot of those at-risk children who desperately need this who, if we don’t do something, are going to fall further and further behind,” said House Speaker Tim Moore, one of the bill’s sponsors.
NC residents could soon get Johnson & Johnson vaccines
North Carolinians could soon have another COVID-19 vaccine option.
Doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be shipped to the state as early as this week, The News & Observer reported Sunday.
The Food and Drug Administration recently gave emergency use authorization for the vaccine, which is administered in a single dose and has 66% efficacy in stopping mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.
Other vaccines available in North Carolina have higher efficacy but require two doses.
Positivity rates drop in Triangle, Mecklenburg County
Some North Carolina counties have seen a drop in the percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive.
In the Triangle, Wake, Durham and Orange counties all saw their positivity rates and new reported coronavirus cases fall over the past week, The News & Observer reports.
In Wake County, 1,716 new cases were reported in the seven days prior to and including Saturday, down from 1,755 the week before. And as of Thursday, the county had an average of 5.3% of tests over the past 14 days returning positive — down from an average 6% of tests returning positive as of the week before.
Over the same period, Durham County reported 368 new cases, down from 470 new cases reported the week before. An average of 4.9% of tests over the past 14 days were returning positive, down from an average of 5.6% the week before.
In Orange County, 147 new cases were reported, down from 184 the week before. As of Thursday, an average of 0.9% of tests over the past 14 days were positive, down from 1.2% the week before.
Mecklenburg County’s average COVID-19 positivity rate fell to 5.6% in the past week — the lowest level reached since the October plateau of new infections and down from the 9.2% average positivity rate two weeks ago.
Over the past 14 days, Mecklenburg added 381 infections for every 100,000 residents, and the average number of coronavirus patients requiring hospitalization fell below 200 on Wednesday — the lowest seven-day moving average reported since late November, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries lifts some COVID rules Monday
Starting Monday, Charlotte Mecklenburg libraries will remove some rules in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Visitors will be able to browse for books and materials and, at most branches — except the Cornelius and Davidson libraries and ImaginOn — reserve time on the “express” computers, according to a post on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library website.
The number of people allowed to browse will vary by branch, and computers will be spaced 6 feet apart. Visitors must wear a mask.
This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 7:49 AM.
