COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 9
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
More than 6,200 COVID-19 cases reported
At least 1,273,623 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 15,004 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported 6,290 new COVID-19 cases, up from 4,752 reported the day before.
Health officials also added 110 new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday. State health officials don’t specify the dates on which newly reported deaths occurred.
At least 3,815 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, the latest date for which data is available, including 919 who are being treated in intensive care units, health officials said.
As of Tuesday, 11.3% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 67% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and about 62% have been fully vaccinated. State officials round vaccination numbers to the nearest whole number.
Long lines for COVID tests in Charlotte
The “excruciatingly long” lines for COVID-19 tests reported in Mecklenburg County were likely driven by people getting tests to travel over Labor Day Weekend or go to holiday gatherings, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said.
The average number of daily tests in Mecklenburg has jumped by nearly 125% over the last three months, The Charlotte Observer reported.
StarMed Healthcare, which operates several testing locations in the county, tweeted about the long lines on Tuesday.
“We really have our hands full,” StarMed said. “The volume of people we’re testing has skyrocketed. All of the healthcare organizations are doing the best we can. We’re all stretched incredibly thin.”
High school football player hospitalized with COVID
A football player at Sanderson High School in North Carolina has been hospitalized since Aug. 29 with the coronavirus.
The player, whom The News & Observer declined to name, is one of several on the team struck by a COVID-19 outbreak. According to updates from the family, the player developed some complications that “led to multiple surgeries and being placed on a ventilator.”
The football team at Sanderson is one of at least three clusters on athletic teams in Wake County this year, according to The N&O, and there have been at least 10 cases linked to the Sanderson cluster.
NC hospitals publish COVID patient numbers
Hospitals have started publishing data that shows what portion of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus have been vaccinated.
The overwhelming majority have not, according to The News & Observer.
“The rationale is to provide simple and visual information for the public that reflects reality,” said Alan Wolf, spokesman for UNC Health, the 12-hospital system based in Chapel Hill. “The evidence shows that you’re much less likely to end up in the hospital, much less likely to end up in the ICU and much less likely to die from this virus if you’ve been vaccinated.”
Health director urges masks at Panthers season opener
Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris is urging residents to get vaccinated and wear face masks ahead of the Carolina Panthers season opener against the Jets in Charlotte on Sunday.
But she told The Charlotte Observer she’s hoping the game “won’t be “as much of a problem as what we saw this (past) weekend” at the Duke’s Mayo Classic college football games.
“There is no way that there was not COVID circulating in the crowd (at the Mayo Classic),” Harris said.
She said she hopes fans heading to Panthers games are aware of the indoor mask mandate. The mandate does not require people to wear masks outdoors, but Harris said that people in packed areas, such as a football stadium, should wear one anyway.
“The message is ‘get vaccinated,’ ” Harris told the Observer. “And when you’re in a big crowd like that wear a mask. It’s that simple.”
Gov. Roy Cooper to give COVID update
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will hold a news conference Thursday to provide an update on the state’s progress in COVID-19 vaccine distribution and in slowing the spread of the virus.
The briefing will start at 3 p.m. and can be streamed live at ncdps.gov/news-conference. It will be delivered in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. The governor’s office also shares the livestreams on his official Twitter and Facebook accounts.
NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen will also appear at the briefing.
Mecklenburg to require masks at indoor religious settings
Mecklenburg County commissioners voted Wednesday to require people attending indoor religious services and events to wear masks to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The rule will go into effect 10 days after it’s published, but Tyrone Wade, the county attorney, did not provide a date for its publication, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The board voted 5-4 to require masks, highlighting disagreements about religious freedom among members.
“I respect the right of separation of church and state, and I don’t want us to go down a slippery road, a slippery slope,” George Dunlap, the board chairman and District 3 commissioner, said.
But Leigh Altman, an at-large commissioner, said it is “equal and fair treatment” to require masks in all indoor, in-person gatherings, even if they are religious.
“We should protect people wherever they are, including when they are gathering as a faith community,” Altman said, according to the Observer.
In Mecklenburg County, the largest COVID-19 outbreak to date was connected to events at the the United House of Prayer for All People nearly a year ago. More than 200 cases and 12 deaths were tied to events at the church.
District with thousands in quarantine won’t require masks
The Union County school board voted Tuesday not to adopt a district-wide face mask mandate despite a rapid spread in COVID-19 cases.
The decision landed despite requests from the superintendent, county health director and some parents to institute a mask requirement, The Charlotte Observer reported.
County data show the number of new coronavirus cases among students last week were double from the week prior.
“The one strategy we have left that ensures more of our students remain in school is a mask mandate,” Superintendent Andrew Houlihan told the board. “I am concerned (with) the number of kids in quarantine.”
Doctor talks pregnant woman and the COVID vaccine
Statistics show pregnant woman in the U.S. are less likely to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, with just 25% nationwide getting at least one dose.
They’re also more likely to get seriously sick from the virus.
Dr. Geeta Swamy, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Duke University School of Medicine, said there are several pregnant women in the ICUs being treated for COVID-19.
“We’re seeing more than a handful at any given time,” Swamy told The News & Observer. “It certainly is more than we would ever expect, and we’re seeing more now with the delta variant than we were seeing at the beginning of the pandemic.”
Some pregnant woman are hesitant to get the vaccine out of concern they might harm the baby. The messaging surrounding COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy was also unclear until recently.
What experts say about attending football games, outdoor concerts
Some health experts say masks would add a “layer of safety” at big events, such as football games and outdoor concerts, that drew massive crowds in North Carolina over the weekend.
But others said they wouldn’t go, particularly given the lack of masks at those events.
“I would not go to a crowded event like a game where it might be hard for me to keep a healthy distance from others in the stands or aisles or bathroom. It’s just too many people in too close a space for comfort,” said Dr. David Alain Wohl, a professor at the Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Some said an outdoor concert with potentially fewer people might be a safer alternative.
“Outdoor concerts can also be safely enjoyed if not packed in together,” said Anita Skariah, a UNC Health internist and pediatrician. “For example, if you are in the lawn section, spread out some distance from others. This would be a safer option than indoor concerts. You could actually enjoy the event and not worry as much about becoming infected.”
Mecklenburg releases employee COVID vaccine data
About 70% of full-time workers and 84.7% of public health employees in Mecklenburg County are vaccinated against the coronavirus, new data shows.
County officials released the numbers on Wednesday — which show county employees outpace the rate of vaccinations for Mecklenburg County residents as a whole, The Charlotte Observer reported.
About 53% of residents are fully vaccinated compared to 62% of all city employees.
A breakdown of vaccination numbers among Mecklenburg County and Charlotte city workers can be found here.
School district gives out water bottles to prevent COVID
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools will be giving students reusable water bottles and fitting water fountains — which have been shut off since the start of the pandemic — with bottle fillers.
“By shutting down the ability to drink directly from the fountains we reduce the (possibility) of someone drinking from the fountain after someone else touched it with their lips or saliva,” Eric Allen, senior executive director of operations at the school district, told The News & Observer.
Allen said the decision follows guidance from the state health department to avoid using public water fountains.
But Rachel Graham, assistant professor of epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, told The N&O that prevailing evidence doesn’t indicate there’s a high direct risk of contracting COVID-19 from a water fountain but that the risk isn’t “completely absent.”
Graham did say while COVID-19 may not be as transmissible through water fountains or other surfaces, other infectious diseases, like the flu and the common cold, are. Getting sick with the flu or a cold could make a child more susceptible to the coronavirus, Graham said.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 7:05 AM.
