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23:00
Despite the threat of delayed delivery of Pfizer to the state, Wake County health officials say they will fire more than 1,400 shots at the PNC Arena on Wednesday.
22:00
Some Wake County high school students return to the classroom for the first time in nearly a year. Josh Chapin of ABC11 spoke to one family who are excited as Wednesday morning approaches. The Wake County School Board acknowledges that there will be hiccups, but with more students in the classroom, they will be able to assess the environment.
15:45
Due to severe weather, the CDC has notified NCDHHS that there may be delays this week with some deliveries and deliveries of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement from an NCDHHS spokesperson. NCDHHS said it will continue to work with the CDC and vaccine providers to reduce the possible consequences of these delays.
14:30
Tuesday’s report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services included 1,988 newly reported COVID-19 cases. This is the first time we have fallen below 2,000 since mid-November.
There were a total of 1,958 hospitalizations on Monday.
The daily percentage positive rate was 7.4%, a slight decrease from yesterday’s 7.7%.
61 deaths were added, bringing the state to 10,562 since the start of the pandemic.
12:05 pm
A Nash Correctional Institution offender with pre-existing medical conditions who tested positive for COVID-19 has died in a hospital.
The offender tested positive for COVID-19 on February 8 and was admitted to the hospital the next day. His condition worsened, and he passed away on February 15th.
The offender was in his early 70s and had underlying health conditions.
“We continue to work hard to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons. The health and safety of staff and offenders is our top priority,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons.
12:04 pm
Sampson County reports 30 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 6,604 since the onset of the pandemic.
The death toll remains at 86.
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According to the latest report from the US Department of Health and Human Services, cases, COVID-19 hospital admissions and positive testing are declining nationally.
The US continues to see a five-week downward trend in new cases, leading to a 64% decline in the 7-day average since its peak on January 11, 2021 (from 249,048 to 89,747).
The number of confirmed new admissions of COVID-19 patients has decreased by 22% since the previous week (daily average of 7 days from 9,900 to 7,740).
The number of deaths has increased slightly (+ 0.3%), partly due to Ohio reporting 4,275 previously unreported deaths to October 2020 in recent days.
Overall, 54,260,570 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States.
In total, 12% of the population (39.1 million people) received 1 or more doses and 4% of the population (14.6 million people) received 2 doses.
11:20 am
The WCPSS Board of Education is meeting today to discuss updates on current and future work in support of students who do not attend regularly, and for students experiencing academic difficulties as the district prepares for a return to personal tutoring during the COVID 19 pandemic.
9:26 am
The city of Rocky Mount’s Tar River Transit service offers free rides to those with regular appointments at drive-in vaccination sites.
Transportation is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday to vaccination sites in Nash and Edgecombe counties. Residents interested in transportation to and from vaccination sites can call Tar River Transit at (252) 972-1174, (252) 972-1514, (252) 972-1515, (252) 972-1516 or (252) 972-1517 .
All appointments can be scheduled the day before the trip. Healthcare facilities can also call and transport on behalf of their patients. Free rides are available until at least June 30th.
TODAY’S HEADS
Vaccination in the Latinx community is increasing. Latinos are excessively affected by COVID-19, but account for about 2% of those vaccinated in North Carolina. The Wake County Health Department is working with El Centro Hispano to stop this by holding clinics that focus on the Latinx community.
Today, State House leaders are planning to submit a plan to provide weekly additional classroom learning recovery for students in North Carolina who may have fallen behind during virtual learning. This would take place during the summer.
MONDAY
17:00
The manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines are figuring out how to adapt their prescriptions against worrying virus mutations – and regulators want to consider flu a blueprint if and when the survey is needed.
“It’s not really something you can make a switch on, do it overnight,” warns Richard Webby, who is a St. John’s World Health Organization flu center. Jude Children’s Research Hospital lei.
Viruses mutate constantly and it only takes the right combination of certain mutations to escape vaccination. But studies are concerned that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines do not work as well against a mutant that first emerged in South Africa as against other versions spread around the world.
The good news: Many of the new COVID-19 vaccines are made with new, flexible technology that can be easily upgraded. What’s more difficult: deciding whether the virus has mutated enough that it’s time to change vaccines – and what changes need to be made.
15:40
The Lee County Government Department of Health confirmed that 5,512 residents tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 162 cases since the department’s last February 8 report.
The province reports 66 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The Department of Health continues to register people for the COVID-19 vaccine eligible under Groups 1 and 2 of the NCDHHS rollout plan. This includes health workers who have direct contact with patients, staff and residents of long-term care facilities, and adults 65 years and older. The department is also registering K-12 educators and child care workers who are eligible to start the vaccine from 24 February. All others in Group 3 (essential workers at the forefront) must wait until March 10 to register.
The Department of Health has opened a temporary vaccination call center in Lee County. Persons currently eligible to register can call (919) 352-3360 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To register and speak to a staff member in Spanish, call (919) 718-4640 and select option 8. Eligible individuals may also choose to complete a registration form online. The staff of the Department of Health will contact those who register within five to seven working days to complete the registration and provide information for the next available vaccination clinic.
The county is holding a second dose of COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center in Sanford on Tuesday.
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Monday’s report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services included 2,458 newly reported COVID-19 cases; a decrease of 20% from last week.
There were a total of 1,941 hospitalizations. That’s 48 less than Sunday.
The daily percentage positive rate was 7.7% and 10 more deaths were reported, bringing the total to 10,501 since the onset of the pandemic.
11:35 am
Wake County Public Health is expected to receive 7,825 doses from the state for the week of February 15th. These are all 1st doses.
Appointments are offered at the following locations:
3,500 to Wake County Public Health Center & Wake County Commons Building (our two indoor locations)
1,000 to Strike Teams
Group 1: 200 to long-term care
Group 2: 1,000 to Equity Community Outreach (historically-marginalized focused events in partnerships with black, Spanish, church, and other organizations)
3,325 to PNC Arena Community Partner Outdoors
In addition, WakeMed is going to bring a partnership and bring another 975 doses to publish at PNC. The total appointments at PNC for Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday of this week will be 4,300.
9:40 am
Cumberland County has announced a first-dose COVID-19 vaccine clinic for today.
The clinic is open from 09:00 to 16:00 at Crown Complex.
It is a transit clinic and no appointments are required.
Vaccines are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to those who meet the requirements.
MONDAY MORNING CUPS
Some Wake County students return to the personal learning class today.
Throughout the year, students go back to the classroom, while others have to wait until Wednesday.
Classroom layouts will look very different from before the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be in a spacious place and socially far away, while the corridors will be with arrows that tell students which direction to walk.
There are also signs in schools reminding students to always wear their masks. Masks can only be removed during designated breaks and during lunch.
All students are also expected to do a health check when they arrive at the school.
Elsewhere in the United States, researchers have identified a series of new COVID-19 mutations. Up to this point, researchers have studied variants of the virus that were first identified in other countries – such as South Africa and the United Kingdom.
But now they say there is an American mutation that affects the protein that helps the virus attach to cells.
It is still unclear whether this mutation changes how contagious or how dangerous the virus is.
Meanwhile, North Carolina is continuing the pressure to make COVID-19 testing available to those who need it.
Four new locations open this week in Wake County: Anderson Point Park, Halifax Community Park and South Park (Fuquay-Varina). There will also be a test site at Aversboro Baptist Church in Garner from Thursday to Saturday. More about COVID-19 testing here.
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