COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Oct. 26
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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 1,300 cases reported
At least 1,470,495 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 17,888 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reported 1,340 new COVID-19 cases, down from 1,183 on Monday.
There were 21 additional coronavirus-related deaths reported Tuesday. Health officials don’t specify the specific dates for the newly reported deaths.
At least 1,443 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, including 419 adults who are patients in intensive care units, health officials said.
On Sunday, the latest date with available information, 6% 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.
COVID clusters reported at 22 Triangle schools
Schools in the Triangle reported a slight uptick in COVID-19 clusters this week, according to the latest health department data.
The data shows 22 schools have clusters, up from 21 last week. They include seven clusters at schools in Durham, six in Wake County, five in Orange County and two each in Franklin and Harnett counties, The News & Observer reported.
A cluster is defined as five or more linked coronavirus cases over 14 days. But because of a reporting time lag, schools may have more or fewer cases than what’s shown on the health department’s report.
Holiday Express canceled due to lack of staff
The city of Raleigh’s Holiday Express has been canceled again — this time because of inadequate staffing, the city announced Tuesday in a news release.
Last year, the Holiday Express was canceled over concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The event requires about 80 staff members a night, including 20 volunteers, The News & Observer reported.
“Unfortunately, we are not at a staffing level this year to provide our guests with an exceptional experience,” the city said in a news release. “We are very disappointed and know that our community will be, too. This is an event we look forward to every year.”
Some Wake students may not return in-person next semester
The Wake County school system may not allow some students taking virtual classes to return to in-person learning next semester.
The district had previously said it would consider letting families enrolled in the Virtual Academy go into classrooms if COVID-19 vaccines became widely available for young kids. But even with an advisory panel meeting to review Pfizer vaccines for 5- to 11-year-olds, Wake officials said the transition could impact children already taking in-person classes.
“A significant change in the structure of the Virtual Academy in the spring semester does inherently have the potential to disrupt the learning experience for the 94% or so of Wake County Public School System students attending in-person instruction in the second semester,” Drew Cook, the assistant superintendent of academics, said Monday.
NC coworking companies see growth during pandemic
Coworking companies in North Carolina are growing after they saw a decline in users earlier in the pandemic.
Jes Porta of the Raleigh Founded coworking community said some people have gone back to shared offices after vaccines became available and people better understood COVID-19.
The Loading Dock, which offers flexible spaces for people who want to gather while doing remote work, is continuing its plan to open two more locations in the Raleigh area, The News & Observer reported.
“Companies want to recognize the life balance of working-from-home work,” said Brian Fuhs, the company’s business development director. “But then they also want to have a place to gather, like a Loading Dock. We’ve seen a big uptake in meeting space rental and conference room utilization over the last month and a half.”
Protests over vaccine mandate at NC charter school
Protesters demonstrating outside a North Carolina charter school said it’s not honoring exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines.
A group of parents also created a GoFundMe page to help workers fight the vaccine mandate at Socrates Academy, in the town of Matthews.
The school was the first one in the Charlotte area to announce that all employees had to get their shots by Thanksgiving. At the time the requirement was announced, nine of 10 workers had already been vaccinated.
A Socrates Academy attorney pushed back on claims that the school wasn’t honoring exemptions.
“Socrates received just a few exemption requests and each employee was provided an individual determination consistent with the interactive process,” Lisa Gordon Stella said, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Most Charlotte area ZIP codes see lower case rates
The coronavirus case rate has continued to drop in most Charlotte area neighborhoods.
In the two weeks leading up to Oct. 20, the new case average for Mecklenburg County was 256.7 per 100,000 people. That’s down from the 320.5 average seen the previous 14 days, data show.
The region’s coronavirus trends generally have been going down since September. The percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 and the number of hospitalized patients are also on the decline, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The most recent figures show the Charlotte area’s highest coronavirus case rate is in ZIP code 28213.
State Fair sees low attendance
The North Carolina State Fair finished on Saturday with the lowest attendance record since 2008, according to preliminary totals.
About 821,463 people attended the fair — down 12% from 2019, which is the last time the fair was held because of the coronavirus pandemic. The last time attendance was that low was in 2008, when 765,067 visited the fair, The News & Observer reported.
North Carolina didn’t require guests to wear masks or show proof of vaccination at the fair. Still, N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said it “exceeded expectations.”
“It took a lot of hard work by a lot of people to put this on, but it was absolutely worth it,” Troxler said in a news release. “Seeing people enjoying themselves and experiencing a bit of normalcy was a great feeling.”
Some NC college workers required to get vaccines
Workers at some North Carolina universities are required to be fully vaccinated under President Joe Biden’s new rules.
N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill employees “working on or in connection with a federal contract” or working in the same space as someone with a federal contract must get their COVID-19 vaccines by Dec. 8, The News & Observer reported.
East Carolina University on Monday also shared guidance for federal contractors, and UNC Greensboro said the mandate “will affect a very small number of our employees” with ties to federal contracts.
This vaccine mandate will be the first at UNC System schools, which have urged people to get vaccinated. In the Triangle, most workers at N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill have already gotten their shots, data show.
Airline workers at Concord airport must be vaccinated
Allegiant Airlines, the only commercial carrier at Concord-Padgett Regional Airport in North Carolina, is requiring all workers such as pilots and flight attendants to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The airline gave a deadline of Dec. 8 but didn’t share further details, The Charlotte Observer reported Monday.
A new federal mandate requires Allegiant Airlines and Transportation Security Administration employees to get fully vaccinated.
The city of Concord, outside of Charlotte, operates the facility and said it won’t require its airport workers to get their shots.
Cash incentives slowed drop in vaccination rates
Clinics that had cash incentives saw a lower drop in COVID-19 vaccination rates compared to other sites, North Carolina researchers said in a new study.
A team from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed sites that were offering $25 to people who got vaccinated or drove someone to get their shot, The News & Observer reported. The clinics were in Guilford, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Rockingham counties.
The sites offering cash incentives saw only half the decline in vaccination rates that others in those four counties saw, according to results that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. At the time the data was collected in June, the state had been seeing fewer people getting coronavirus vaccines.
“The study itself concludes that since the sites were not randomized, the causal effects between guaranteed cash incentives and vaccination are preliminary,” the N&O reported Monday.
This story was originally published October 26, 2021 at 6:56 AM.
