COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 16
Click here for updates for Sept. 17.
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
115 additional deaths reported
At least 1,322,587 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 15,520 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported 7,160 new COVID-19 cases, down from 7,277 the day before. The state health department said a technical issue meant some case numbers reported on Thursday were lower than they should have been.
One-hundred fifteen coronavirus-related deaths were added on Thursday. State health officials don’t specify the dates on which newly reported deaths occurred.
The state is on track to reach almost 1,120 deaths in September, which could be the highest single-month toll seen since February. Vaccines weren’t widely available at that time.
At least 3,620 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, including 927 adult patients who were being treated in intensive care units, health officials said.
As of Tuesday, the latest date for which data is available, 11% 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 63% have been fully vaccinated. State officials round vaccination numbers to the nearest whole number.
Across North Carolina, more urban counties have seen higher vaccinations than those that are more rural. Here’s a list of vaccination rates across the Triangle and Charlotte area.
Rollout of Mecklenburg testing rules ‘a little bumpy’
Nearly 600 Mecklenburg County employees face suspension for noncompliance with the county’s vaccination or testing requirement, but commissioners said some of those people might be on the list by mistake.
“It’s always a little bumpy when you do something new for the first time,” County Manager Dena Diorio said Thursday at a town hall. “And we will readily admit that we’ve hit some bumps along the way. But we’re working to resolve those and make sure that we make this as seamless and easy for employees as possible.”
Unvaccinated county employees who don’t show proof of a negative COVID-19 test face suspension, but it isn’t clear how many workers have been actively suspended.
County Commissioner Pat Cotham said some of those employees may have had trouble with testing or submitting proof of vaccination, The Charlotte Observer reported. Others could be part-time or temporary, meaning they aren’t actively working for the county.
Meanwhile at the sheriff’s office, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the county, no employee has been suspended or deemed noncompliant, a spokesperson said.
UNC System leaders not pushing for vaccine mandate
Faculty and students are pushing the UNC System to issue a COVID-19 vaccine mandate — but top leadership won’t budge.
UNC System President Peter Hans said Thursday they can’t legally require a vaccine, The News & Observer reported.
“I think it’s best left in the hands of public health experts,” he said.
President Joe Biden announced a vaccine and testing requirement for large private businesses and federal contractors last week, but it wasn’t immediately clear how it affects colleges and universities. Hans said officials are still “awaiting clarity.”
NC Republicans not rushing to push back on Biden mandate
Some well-known GOP leaders in North Carolina haven’t been as fierce as Republicans in other states in response to President Joe Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandates.
The reaction comes as polls show most Americans support COVID-19 vaccines, and state legislators are set to be reelected next year.
“Republicans’ milder response to the recent mandate reflects a political calculation by conservative politicians that the issue isn’t worth wading into now, even though the party is generally opposed to government mandates,” The News & Observer reported Thursday.
Some in the GOP are waiting for more information about the president’s vaccine requirements, while others consider that the issue will pass before voters begin going to the polls in March, the N&O reported.
Monoclonal antibody clinics offering treatment
As the delta coronavirus variant spreads, the demand for a treatment that uses monoclonal antibodies has risen.
The treatment is available in North Carolina at mobile clinics that help to keep patients out of crowded hospitals, The News & Observer reported Thursday.
“While vaccines are our best tool in the fight against COVID-19, monoclonal antibody treatment is available if you do get infected,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. “This treatment will help us save more lives as we work to turn the corner on the pandemic.”
Public Safety has lowest vaccination rate among state agencies
North Carolina Department of Public Safety employees are the least vaccinated among eight state agencies with available data.
The department has a COVID-19 vaccination rate of 53%. But within that agency, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation reported a rate of 77%, The News & Observer reported.
The highest rate was 82% among workers in the N.C. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, data show.
Starting in early September, roughly 60,000 state employees who weren’t vaccinated had to get the shot or have to get coronavirus tests each week. Here are vaccination figures for workers who must follow the new rules.
Cohen warns of possible legal action against NC school board
The top health official in North Carolina said a school board could face legal action if it doesn’t roll back new rules that eliminate some coronaviurs-related measures.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, in a letter to the Union County school district said not following the precautions creates “an imminent hazard to public health.”
Cohen sent the letter to Melissa Merrell, chairperson for the Union County Public Schools Board of Education, who didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
The Charlotte-area district’s school board this week stopped contact tracing and changed its quarantine rules. Now, students only will have to stay home if they have COVID-19 symptoms or test positive for the virus, not if they have been exposed.
If the new policy isn’t eliminated by 5 p.m. Friday, “legal action may be required to protect the public’s health,” Cohen said.
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.
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.
This story was originally published September 16, 2021 at 7:16 AM.
