COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 15
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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.
More than 7,200 new cases reported
At least 1,315,427 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 15,405 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported 7,277 new COVID-19 cases, up from 4,760 the day before.
One hundred coronavirus-related deaths were added on Wednesday. State health officials don’t specify the dates on which newly reported deaths occurred.
At least 3,630 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, including 946 adult patients who are being treated in intensive care units, health officials said.
As of Monday, the latest date for which data is available, 11.9% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 68% 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.
School board makes masks optional in district where teacher died
Lincoln County Schools became the first district in the Charlotte area on Tuesday to make face masks optional again despite a rise in coronavirus cases locally.
The decision comes after a 45-year-old third-grade teacher at Battleground Elementary School in Lincolnton died of complications from COVID-19.
Board members were divided on the vote, but those who opted in favor of making face masks optional did not explain their reasoning, The Charlotte Observer reported. Two Atrium Health doctors who practice in the county were also not allowed to address the board.
SAS mandates employees get a vaccine
SAS Institute will require its workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine or face being fired.
The software developer employs some 5,500 people in Cary, making it the largest employer in the city, The News & Observer reported.
SAS previously required any worker who wanted to return to in-office work to get a vaccine but said unvaccinated workers could work remotely. The vaccine mandate now applies to all employees.
“With the FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the federal government’s recent Executive Orders, SAS is now mandating that all U.S. SAS employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of their work arrangement (fully remote, hybrid, on-campus),” spokesperson Trent Smith said.
UNC System sees record growth despite pandemic
Enrollment across the UNC System continued to climb amid uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s the fourth year in a row enrollment has climbed, The News & Observer reported. About 244,500 students are enrolled in the university system this fall — a 0.8% jump from last year.
“We’re very pleased to be bucking the national trends with another year of enrollment,” UNC System President Peter Hans said.
Few COVID outbreaks at Charlotte schools
There were three COVID-19 clusters reported at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools last week and an additional 382 infections reported among students, state health department data show.
The clusters occurred at Movement Charter School, Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology and Mallard Creek High, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Clusters previously reported at other schools appeared to have slowed. Ardrey Kell High, which had 18 cases among students in the first two weeks of school, now has five cases, according to The Observer.
Staff cases have also declined from 80 in the second week of school to 65 last week. School officials said there have been a total of 764 known COVID-19 cases among students over the last two weeks, accounting for less than 1% of the student population.
Mecklenburg suspends some employees
Mecklenburg County started suspending employees on Tuesday who haven’t gotten a COVID vaccine and failed to show proof of a negative test.
While all Mecklenburg County health employees are required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, other government workers can remain unvaccinated as long as they submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. Officials said about 70% of the county’s full-time workers are fully vaccinated.
County spokeswoman Tammy Thompson said any unvaccinated employee who does not submit a negative test result will remain on unpaid suspension until they present proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.
Nearly 600 county employees have been deemed non-compliant, The Charlotte Observer reported. But it wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday how many have been suspended.
Cooper’s vaccine strategy changed with delta wave
Gov. Roy Cooper has moved away from his decision earlier in the pandemic to issue statewide mandates, shifting that control to local governments while focusing his efforts on the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We know that vaccinations are going to be the way out of this thing,” Cooper told reporters Tuesday.
While all state employees under his jurisdiction have to show proof of vaccination or be tested weekly for COVID-19, The News & Observer reported, local school boards and county governments have been entrusted with passing their own mask ordinances or vaccine mandates.
“I think it’s politically smart,” said Chris Cooper, who leads the Department of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina University.
“I think it’s a textbook Roy Cooper move, to kind of read the changing environment. He has read the shift in public opinion and read the shift in local government opinion and taken some of the pressure off of him,” he said.
Raleigh requiring vaccines for city employees to get promoted
The city of Raleigh is requiring its employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to be promoted, according to a police department memo.
“The decision requiring promoted employees to be vaccinated was recently made by city leadership and applies to the entire organization,” said Sherry Hunter, the administrative services division commander for Raleigh police.
Starting Jan. 1, those who seek promotions within that department, the fire department and the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center must have their COVID-19 shots, The News & Observer reported.
The deadline for Raleigh workers to be vaccinated is Friday, and those who do not receive their shots by then must undergo weekly testing.
Major NC employer Wells Fargo delaying return to office
Wells Fargo bank, a major Charlotte-area employer, is pushing back its return to the office.
A “broad return to in-person work” has been postponed to Nov. 1, the second time the date has been moved, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
While Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell in a memo to employees didn’t share a reason for the latest change, many companies near Charlotte have seen the coronavirus pandemic impact their plans to bring workers back into offices.
COVID case disparities reported at Charlotte colleges
Some Charlotte-area colleges are reporting a handful of coronavirus cases, while two schools without vaccine mandates have more than 100 cases so far.
Those cases represent less than 1% of the student populations but show vaccination requirements at some schools may be working, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris recently said mandating the shots at local colleges could impact the area’s overall vaccination rate.
“Vaccine mandates — if you can make it happen, that’s wonderful,” she said. “That just means more people getting vaccinated, and that’s the trend that we need to see.”
Even if they don’t require vaccines, the rates among college students and employees are higher than Mecklenburg County overall. Fifty-four percent of people who live in Mecklenburg are fully vaccinated, compared to 74% to 99% at higher education institutions that released data.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, charter school require teachers to get vaccinated
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will soon request teachers provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or get tested for the disease on a regular basis.
The district will start testing unvaccinated elementary employees in two weeks. Also beginning in October, it plans to test students who show symptoms of the virus or hope to limit their time in quarantine, The Charlotte Observer reported.
“This is something we’ve wanted for a long time to keep our students safe,” school board member Margaret Marshall said Tuesday.
In the same region, Socrates Academy became one of the first Charlotte-area schools to require teachers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The charter school in Matthews will require all staff and teachers to be fully vaccinated by Thanksgiving unless they submit a medical or religious exemption, the Observer reported.
Socrates Academy serves students in kindergarten through ninth grade. The board, which voted unanimously in favor of the mandate, said most teachers were already vaccinated.
“From the beginning, we have taken a position that we need to follow science,” board President Larry Peroulas said in a statement sent to the Observer. “There is clear evidence showing that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and, combined with other safety measures such as masking, are the most powerful measures we have against the pandemic.
Cawthorn calls for end to mask mandate
U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn was joined by hundreds of people at a protest in Johnson County against the school district’s indoor face mask mandate.
“I’m here to save my generation from socialism,” Cawthorn told the crowd.
The protest came ahead of the Johnson County school board’s meeting, during which board members were scheduled to vote on renewing the mandate.
But the vote has been rescheduled because vice chairwoman Terri Sessoms, whose husband recently died, can’t attend.
School board member tests positive for COVID
A school board member in Cleveland County who previously voted against requiring face masks in schools is asking for prayers after he was hospitalized with the coronavirus.
“Please say a little prayer for me tonight,” school board member Rodney Fitch posted on Facebook on Thursday. “I am in the hospital dealing with low oxygen levels thanks to Covid.”
Fitch previously posted that wearing face masks should be a “freedom of choice,” The Charlotte Observer reported.
He voted Aug. 9 to oppose a motion that would require students, staff and faculty in Cleveland County to wear face masks. When the board voted again on Aug. 18, Fitch, a Republican, joined six other members voting in favor of the mandate.
Over 20 Triangle schools report COVID clusters
At least 21 schools in the Triangle area have active COVID-19 clusters, according to the health department’s latest report.
Twelve of those clusters are in Wake County, two are in Orange County and one is in Durham County. Granville and Harnett counties reported at least two clusters while Franklin and Johnson counties have one each, The News & Observer reported.
There could be more or less COVID cases than schools currently have because of a time lag in health department data.
Charlotte schools require unvaccinated staff to get tested
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will require teachers to show proof of vaccination or submit to regular COVID-19 testing starting the week of Sept. 20.
“This testing aligns with recommendations from Mecklenburg County Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,” CMS school board member Carol Sawyer wrote on her Facebook page Tuesday night.
The tests will be mandatory for unvaccinated staff, but families or students can also opt in if they choose, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Duke loosens COVID restrictions
A decline in coronavirus cases has prompted Duke University to loosen some campus COVID-19 restrictions, including allowing students and employees to remove face masks outdoors.
Masks will still be required at major outdoor events, such as football games, The News & Observer reported.
Duke reported 28 cases among students and nine among faculty over the last week, marking the first time since the fall semester began that the university reported less than 100 cases in one week.
“Since the beginning, we’ve talked about Duke United and about being in this together, and I could not be prouder of the way our students, faculty and staff have responded to help curtail the spread of COVID on campus,” Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh said in a statement.
School board meetings become mask battlegrounds
Crowds have been attending local school board meetings across North Carolina in recent weeks — turning them into “heated battlegrounds” over face mask requirements, The News & Observer reports.
The meetings are likely to become more contentious because of a law that took effect Aug. 30. It requires schools boards to hold monthly votes on their face mask policies.
“Most boards meet once a month,” Rep. John Torbett, an education leader in the North Carolina House, said in August. “It gives them an opportunity to go look back and see what they want to state for the next coming month.”
The required monthly votes have also given opponents of mask requirements the opportunity to organize others to show up at the meetings to protest, the N&O reports. In some cases, police have had to remove protesters from school board meetings.
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 7:10 AM.
