COVID-19 vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Feb. 21
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Case count tops 840,000
At least 840,096 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 10,896 have died since March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday reported 3,446 new COVID-19 cases, up from 3,227 reported Friday. Saturday’s COVID-19 case count was inflated by 685 cases due to delayed reporting to the state of tests performed at UNC Health Southeastern Hospital since Dec. 30, according to state health officials.
Seventy-six deaths were reported Saturday. Deaths don’t all occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.
At least 1,708 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Saturday, down from 1,780 on Friday. Friday marked the state’s lowest hospitalizations count since before Thanksgiving.
As of Friday, more than 1.1 million first doses and more than 608,000 second doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been administered in North Carolina.
Triangle health departments reschedule vaccination appointments
Some Triangle counties have had to reschedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments as some doses were not shipped last week due to the snow and ice that hit much of the country.
North Carolina is waiting to receive its entire Moderna vaccine allocation, including 99,500 first and 63,800 second doses. The state has received some of its Pfizer vaccine allocation, but is still awaiting on 21,450 first doses and all of its 63,375 second doses, according to state health officials.
Durham and Orange counties have rescheduled appointments while Wake County rescheduled a drive-thru mass vaccination event at PNC Arena from Thursday to Monday.
The doses not shipped to North Carolina last week are expected to start arriving in the state Monday.
CMS program to address learning gaps
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will hold a summer program to address learning gaps that have emerged during the coronavirus pandemic.
State lawmakers have been drafting a bill that would require public schools to offer five days of in-person learning for six weeks over the summer, with five hours of instruction each day. The program is intended to address the needs of students most at risk of falling behind during months of remote instruction.
CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston said the district had been working on developing its program months before state legislators began drafting the bill.
The CMS program would, at the least, be in line with the state’s requirements, CMS chief academic officer Brian Kingsley told The Charlotte Observer. The district will design a program based around student needs and parents’ goals and plans to survey families.
200 sign up to be vaccinated at Latino clinic
More than 200 people, mostly Latino, signed up to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at an event hosted by Wake County and WakeMed at the North Carolina United Methodist conference building in Garner.
La Semilla, a church in Durham, worked with the county and WakeMed to reach out to Latino people in the community. More than 210 people signed up to receive a dose at Saturday’s event, though only 200 doses were available. WakeMed officials at the event said they expected all of the doses to be used.
Roughly 3% of first COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Wake County have been given to the Latino community, according to data from the state health department.
“One of the communities that has the lowest percentage for vaccinations is the Latino community,” said Dr. Lucia Reyes, a WakeMed physician who helped organize the event. “That’s why we’re making these efforts and reaching out and trying to get them vaccinated.”
La Semilla is hoping to continue hosting vaccination events for the Latino community at least every other week, Pastor Edgar Millan told The News & Observer.
