COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 2
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We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases surpass 969,000
At least 969,752 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 12,651 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,231 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, up from 1,985 reported the day before.
Twenty additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported Friday. 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 1,101 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Friday, down from 1,137 reported on Thursday.
As of Wednesday, the latest day for which data is available, 4.8% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials have said 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Nearly half of adults in North Carolina, or 49.2%, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. At least 40.5% are now fully vaccinated.
Across the nation, about 38% of adults are fully vaccinated. That includes more than 100 million people, federal officials said Friday.
The state health department did not update its COVID-19 dashboard on Saturday and will not update it Sunday. The next update will be Monday.
How many people are vaccinated in Triangle counties?
Forty-seven percent of residents in Orange County have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 41.2% are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, health officials say.
That’s 69,741 people in the county who are at least partially vaccinated and 61,194 who are fully vaccinated.
During the past week, the county reported 96 new cases, up from 90 reported the week before. An average of 0.8% of tests were returning positive over the past 14 days as of Thursday.
In nearby Durham County, 40.2% of residents, or 129,260 people, are at least partially vaccinated and 34.2%, or 109,816 people, are fully vaccinated.
Durham added 314 new cases over the past week, down from 410 the week before. An average of 3.8% of tests were returning positive as of Thursday.
In Wake County, 38% of residents, or 422,783 people, are partially vaccinated and 30.7%, or 341,479 people, are fully vaccinated against the virus.
The county reported 1,147 new cases in the past seven days, up from the 997 new cases added the week before. An average of 4.9% of tests over a 14-day period were returning positive as of Thursday.
Vaccination data for other Triangle and surrounding counties can be found here.
White neighborhoods vaccinated at higher rate in Charlotte area
Some Charlotte area ZIP codes where residents are predominately white have higher COVID-19 vaccination rates than other parts of Mecklenburg County.
“Marginalized communities in Mecklenburg’s crescent have some of the lowest rates of vaccinations, while those in the wedge — a collection of affluent neighborhoods in south Charlotte — have some of the highest,” The Charlotte Observer reported Friday.
The lowest vaccination rates are also in some of the areas where COVID-19 hit the hardest, officials said.
The average vaccination rate across all Charlotte zip codes was 43%.
Black people make up 21.3% of the county’s population with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Mecklenburg County, but they make up 33.9% of the county’s population.
Meanwhile, white people make up 58.8% of the total county population with at least one dose of the vaccine and 58.5% of the population, according to Mecklenburg.
“It just reinforces that fact that we’ve got certain populations that are underrepresented in the vaccines that have been given up to this date,” Gibbie Harris, public health director for Mecklenburg County, said. “We need to continue to focus on that and making sure that we’re making those vaccines available in those areas.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2021 at 9:55 AM.
