COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Oct. 23
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
More than 2,600 cases added
At least 1,463,410 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 17,765 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 2,609 new COVID-19 cases, down from 3,003 on Thursday.
Sixty-nine additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported Friday. Health officials don’t specify the specific dates for the newly reported deaths.
At least 1,693 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday, including 468 adult patients who are being treated in intensive care units, health officials said.
On Wednesday, the latest date with available information, 4.4% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 71% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and about 66% have been fully vaccinated. State officials round vaccination numbers to the nearest whole number.
Vaccine lottery had no impact on rates, study finds
A new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found North Carolina’s vaccine lottery had no impact on the state’s vaccination rates.
The study examined vaccination data from late April to July 1 in the 19 states that offered vaccine lotteries, including North Carolina, The News & Observer reported.
“Estimates of the association between an announcement and vaccination rates were very small in magnitude and statistically indistinguishable from zero,” the researchers wrote.
The number of first doses of a coronavirus vaccine that were administered in the 19 states with lottery programs actually went down, the study found. The decline correlated with a nationwide decrease in vaccinations that started before states announced the lottery incentives.
NC student’s denied face mask exemption sparks outrage
A North Carolina school denied a face mask exemption for a kindergartner, leading to outrage among some conservative activists.
The student’s mother told Powell Elementary School in Raleigh that a doctor said her child wasn’t able to “keep a face mask on because of sensory processing disorder,” The News & Observer reported Friday.
The mother and school principal discussed the exemption request in September, and a taped phone call was sent to podcaster Matthew “Jax” Myers. He and others have slammed the principal’s request for the child’s medical records, The N&O reported.
“The district has reviewed the circumstances described in the recording and, at this time, believes that the school’s actions are consistent with district policies and practices,” Lisa Luten, a Wake County school district spokesperson, said in a statement.
School system sent extra COVID checks to employees
Several hundred Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employees must repay duplicate $750, COVID-related payments sent to them in error, The Charlotte Observer reported.
About 10,000 teachers and other staff received the payments for extra responsibilities supporting students during the pandemic, according to the station. Of those, 319 erroneously received duplicate payments, officials said.
NC law requires the district to recoup the over-payments regardless of the cause, CMS officials said.
NC mountain county sees higher COVID transmission as cases fall
Buncombe County, whose seat of government is Asheville, “ranks as a high (COVID-19) transmission area” despite falling COVID-19 cases, the (Asheville) Citizen Times reported, citing county Public Health Director Stacie Saunders.
And cases remain high, Saunders told county commissioners on Tuesday, according to the newspaper.
The county has reported more than 9,500 new COVID-19 cases and 80 deaths since cases reached a low point July 1 , she said.
Nurses protest hospital staff shortage amid COVID
Nurses on Thursday protested outside Mission Hospital in Asheville over what they called chronic staffing shortages putting patients and them at risk during COVID-19.
“We are still in the midst of the worst pandemic in a century, and nurses are here to hold (hospital owner) HCA accountable for prioritizing safe patient care over profits,” Mission registered nurse Elle Kruta told WLOS.
According to a hospital statement, Mission is “taking every step possible” amid a nationwide nursing shortage. The hospital employs at least 800 registered nurses and is working to recruit at least another 500 RNs, according to the statement.
Bill would force change in rental aid process
A new bill that calls for forcing North Carolina rental aid programs to accept landlords’ applications could slow the process down, an official said.
Laura Hogshead of the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, which runs the COVID-19 rental assistance program called Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Eviction, said the process could take more time because landlords can’t honestly say how much their tenants make.
“We would have to reconfigure our system to allow for applications to pass back and forth between landlords and applicants,” Hogshead said.
But Janae Moore, government affairs director of the Apartment Association of North Carolina, said letting landlords apply would help when units are abandoned.
“Once that tenant leaves the unit, and they don’t share where they’re going, provide additional contact information, you now have a sitting unit, and you can’t turn over that unit,” Moore said.
The Republican-sponsored HB110 was changed to allow for landlord applications, but the House on Wednesday “voted unanimously not to concur with the amended bill,” The News & Observer reported.
“Still got some work to do,” state Rep. Bobby Hanig said. “We’re going to bring it to conference and get it settled out so that everyone’s happy.”
Most unvaccinated in NC are unlikely to get their shots, poll finds
About two-thirds of North Carolinians who haven’t gotten their COVID-19 shots say it’s not likely they will get them, new poll results show.
The Elon University Poll also found roughly 70% of respondents had already been vaccinated against the virus, similar to the statewide rate for adults.
In the survey, about 65% of respondents said they had already gotten a booster shot or planned to do so. Also, 60% of people supported the federal government’s rule that large businesses require workers to be vaccinated or test for COVID-19 each week, The Charlotte Observer reported Friday.
The poll had more than 1,200 responses between Oct. 15 and Oct. 17.
