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23 hours
Despite threats of delayed shipments from Pfizer by the state, Wake County health officials say they will deliver more than 1,400 shots at PNC Arena on Wednesday.
10 pm
Some Wake County high school students are returning to class for the first time in nearly a year. ABC11’s Josh Chapin spoke to a family ecstatic as Wednesday morning approaches. The Wake County school board recognizes that there will be problems, but with more students in the class, they will be able to assess the environment.
3:45 PM
Due to severe weather, the CDC has informed NCDHHS that there may be delays in some shipments and deliveries of the COVID-19 vaccine this week, according to a statement from an NCDHHS spokesperson. NCDHHS said it will continue to work with the CDC and vaccine providers to help minimize the potential effects of these delays.
2.30 pm
Tuesday’s report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services included 1,988 newly reported COVID-19 cases. It is the first time that we fell below 2,000 since mid-November.
Monday there were a total of 1,958 hospital admissions.
The daily positive rate was 7.4%, a slight decrease from yesterday’s 7.7%.
There were 61 deaths, bringing the state total 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 died in a hospital.
The perpetrator tested positive for COVID-19 on February 8 and was hospitalized the following day. His condition deteriorated and he died on February 15.
The culprit was in his early 70s and had underlying health problems.
“We continue to work hard to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons. The health and safety of staff and perpetrators is our top priority,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons.
12:04 pm
Sampson County is reporting 30 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 6,604 since the start of the pandemic.
The death toll remains at 86.
12 o’clock
According to the latest report from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, cases, COVID-19 hospitalizations and test positivity continue to decline nationally.
The US continues to see a five-week downward trend in new cases, resulting in a 64% drop in the 7-day average since the peak on January 11, 2021 (from 249,048 to 89,747).
The number of confirmed new COVID-19 patient admissions has decreased by 22% since the previous week (7-day daily mean from 9,900 to 7,740).
The number of deaths has increased slightly (+ 0.3%), in part because Ohio reported 4,275 previously unreported deaths in recent days dating back to October 2020.
A total of 54,260,570 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the United States.
In total, 12% of the population (39.1 million people) has received 1 or more doses and 4% of the population (14.6 million people) has received 2 doses.
11:20 am
The WCPSS Board of Education is meeting today to discuss updates on current and future work to support students who do not attend regularly, and for students experiencing academic difficulties as the district prepares for a return to face-to-face education during COVID-19 pandemic.
9:26 am
The City of Rocky Mount’s Tar River Transit service offers free rides for those with scheduled appointments to “drive-up” vaccination sites.
Transportation is available Monday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm 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 schedule transportation on behalf of their patients. Free rides are available until a minimum of June 30th.
THE MAIN FEATURES OF TODAY
There is a push to ramp up vaccinations in the Latinx community. Latinos are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, but they account for about 2% of those who get vaccinated in North Carolina. The Wake County Health Department is working with El Centro Hispano to change that by running clinics that cater to the Latinx community.
Today, state house leaders are scheduled to present a plan to provide weeks of additional learning recovery in the classroom to North Carolina students who may have fallen behind in virtual learning. This would take place in the summer.
MONDAY
5:00 pm
The makers of COVID-19 vaccines are figuring out how to adapt their prescriptions against troubling virus mutations – and regulators want flu as a blueprint if and when the shots need an update.
“It’s not really something you can turn around overnight,” cautioned Richard Webby, who runs a World Health Organization flu center from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Viruses are constantly mutating and it takes just the right combination of certain mutations to escape vaccination. But studies are raising concern that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines don’t work as well against a mutant that first emerged in South Africa as they do against other versions circulating 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 so that it’s time to modify vaccines – and what changes to make.
3:40 PM
The Lee County Government Health Department has confirmed that a total of 5,212 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 162 cases since the department’s last report on Feb. 8.
The province reports 66 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The health department continues to register people for the COVID-19 vaccine that qualifies for groups 1 and 2 of the NCDHHS vaccination plan. This includes health professionals who have direct contact with patients, staff and residents of long-term care facilities, and adults aged 65 and over. The department also registers K-12 educators and child caregivers as eligible for the vaccine starting Feb. 24. Everyone else in Group 3 (key frontline workers) must wait until March 10 to register.
The health department has opened a temporary call center for vaccine registrations in Lee County. Currently eligible to register, please call (919) 352-3360 Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. To register and speak to a member of staff in Spanish, call (919) 718-4640 and select option 8. Eligible persons can also choose to complete a registration form online. Health department personnel will contact those registering within five to seven business days to complete registration and provide information for the next available vaccine clinic.
The county will hold a second dose of COVID-19 drive-thru vaccination clinic Tuesday at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center in Sanford.
12 o’clock
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% compared to last week.
There were a total of 1,941 hospital admissions. That’s 48 fewer than Sunday.
The daily positive rate was 7.7% and 10 more deaths were reported, a total of 10,501 since the start of the pandemic.
11:35 am
Wake County Public Health will receive 7,825 doses from the state during the week of Feb. 15. These are all first 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 beat teams
Group 1: 200 to long-term care
Group 2: 1,000 to Equity Community Outreach (historically marginalized targeted events in partnerships with Black, Hispanic, Church, and other organizations)
3,325 to PNC Arena community partner outdoor drive-thru
In addition, WakeMed is going to partner up and bring another 975 of its doses to hand out at PNC. The total number of appointments at PNC for Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday of this week will be 4,300.
9.40 am
Cumberland County today announced a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
The clinic is open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in Crown Complex.
It is a drive-thru clinic and no appointments are required.
Vaccines are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis for those who meet the admission requirements.
MONDAY MORNING HEADLINES
Some Wake County students are returning to class today to learn in person.
Throughout the year, students return to class on Monday, while other students have to wait until Wednesday.
The layout of the class will look very different from before the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be apart and socially distant, while corridors will have arrows telling the students which way to walk.
There is also signage in the schools to remind students to always wear their masks. Masks can be removed only during designated breaks and during lunch.
All students will also be required to undergo a health screening upon arrival at school.
Elsewhere in the United States, researchers have identified a batch of new COVID-19 mutations. So far, researchers have studied variants of the virus 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 its efforts to make COVID-19 testing available to those who need it.
Four new locations are opening in Wake County this week: Anderson Point Park, Halifax Community Park and South Park (Fuquay-Varina). There will also be a testing site at Aversboro Baptist Church in Garner Thursday through Saturday. More about COVID-19 testing here.
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