Have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? Send them to us here
11 pm
Despite the threat of delays in Pfizer shipments across the state, Wake County health officials say they will administer more than 1,400 shots at the PNC Arena on Wednesday.
10 pm
Some high school students from Wake County are returning to the classroom for the first time in nearly a year. Josh Chapin of ABC11 spoke to a family that is ecstatic as Wednesday morning approaches. The Wake County school board recognizes that there will be hiccups, but with more students back in the classroom, they will be able to assess the environment.
3:45 pm
Due to bad weather, the CDC notified the NCDHHS that there may be delays in some shipments and deliveries of the COVID-19 vaccine this week, according to a statement from a NCDHHS spokesman. The 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
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday’s report included 1,988 newly reported COVID-19 cases. It is the first time that we have dropped to less than 2,000 since mid-November.
There were a total of 1,958 hospitalizations on Monday.
The positive daily percentage rate was 7.4%, a slight reduction from yesterday’s 7.7%.
61 deaths were added, bringing the state total to 10,562 since the pandemic began.
12:05
A Nash Correctional Institution offender with existing medical conditions who tested positive for COVID-19 died in a hospital.
The criminal tested positive for COVID-19 on February 8 and was hospitalized the next day. His condition worsened and he died on February 15.
The attacker was in his 70s and had latent health problems.
“We continue to work hard to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our prisons. The health and safety of employees and the offending population is our top priority, ”said Todd Ishee, prison commissioner.
12h04
Sampson County reports 30 new cases of COVID-19 out of a total of 6,604 since the pandemic began.
The death toll remains at 86.
12:00
According to the latest report by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, cases, COVID-19 hospital admissions and test positivity continue to decline nationally.
The US continues to observe a five-week downward trend in new cases, resulting in a 64% decline in the 7-day average since the peak on January 11, 2021 (from 249,048 to 89,747).
The number of new confirmed admissions for COVID-19 patients has decreased by 22% since the previous week (7-day daily average from 9,900 to 7,740).
The number of deaths has increased slightly (+ 0.3%), partly due to the fact that Ohio, in the past few days, reported 4,275 unreported deaths since October 2020.
Overall, 54,260,570 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been 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 to support students who are not attending regularly, and for students who are experiencing academic difficulties as the district prepares for a return to face-to-face instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
9:26
Rocky Mount City’s Tar River Transit service is offering free travel for those with scheduled appointments to “drive” vaccination sites.
Transportation is available from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to 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 schedule transportation on behalf of their patients. Free tours will be available until at least June 30.
TODAY’S TITLES
There is an effort to increase vaccination in the Latinx community. Latinos have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, but are responsible for about 2% of those vaccinated in North Carolina. The Wake County Health Department is partnering with El Centro Hispano to reverse this, maintaining clinics focused on the Latinx community.
Today, state leaders are scheduled to come up with a plan to provide additional weeks of recovery from classroom learning for North Carolina students who may have been left behind during virtual learning. This would happen during the summer.
MONDAY
5 pm
COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are figuring out how to adjust their prescriptions against worrying viral mutations – and regulators are looking to the flu as a model if and when vaccines need an update.
“It’s not really something you can do overnight,” warned Richard Webby, who runs a World Health Organization flu center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Viruses mutate constantly and the right combination of specific mutations is needed to escape vaccination. But studies are raising concern that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines will not work as well against a mutant that first appeared in South Africa as they do against other versions that circulate around the world.
The good news: many of the new COVID-19 vaccines are made with new, flexible technology that is easy to update. What’s more difficult: deciding whether the virus has mutated enough that it’s time to modify vaccines – and what changes to make.
3:40 pm
The Lee County Government Health Department confirmed that a total of 5,212 residents tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 162 cases since the department’s last report on February 8.
The county reports 66 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The Department of Health continues to register eligible people for the COVID-19 vaccine in Groups 1 and 2 of the NCDHHS vaccine distribution plan. This includes healthcare professionals who have direct contact with patients, staff and residents of long-term care facilities and adults aged 65 and over. The department is also enrolling elementary and high school educators and daycare workers who are eligible to receive the vaccine as of February 24. Everyone else in Group 3 (essential frontline workers) must wait until March 10 to apply.
The Department of Health has opened a temporary call center for vaccine registries in Lee County. Individuals currently eligible to apply can call (919) 352-3360 Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. To register and speak to an employee in Spanish, call (919) 718-4640 and select option 8. Eligible individuals may also choose to complete an online registration form. Department of Health staff will contact those who register 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 at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center in Sanford on Tuesday.
12:00
Monday’s North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services report included 2,458 newly reported COVID-19 cases; a 20% reduction compared to last week.
There were a total of 1,941 hospitalizations. That’s 48 less than on Sunday.
The daily rate of positive percentage was 7.7% and an additional 10 deaths were reported, totaling 10,501 since the beginning of the pandemic.
11:35 am
Wake County Public Health is scheduled to receive 7,825 doses from the state in the week of February 15. Those are all the first doses.
Appointments will be offered at the following locations:
3,500 for Wake County Public Health Center and Wake County Commons Building (our two indoor locations)
1,000 for attack teams
Group 1: 200 for long-term care
Group 2: 1,000 for the Equity Community Outreach (events historically marginalized in partnership with black, Hispanic, religious and other organizations)
3,325 for PNC Arena community partner outdoor drive-thru
In addition, WakeMed will partner and bring 975 more of its doses to distribute in the PNC. The total number of visits to the PNC for Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week will be 4,300.
9:40
Cumberland County announced a first-dose COVID-19 vaccine clinic for today.
The clinic is open from 9 am to 4 pm in the Crown Complex.
It is a drive-thru clinic and does not require an appointment.
Vaccines will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to those who meet the eligibility requirements.
MONDAY MORNING
Some students in Wake County are returning to classes for face-to-face learning today.
Year-round students will return to the classroom on Monday, while other students will have to wait until Wednesday.
Classroom layouts will be very different from those prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be spaced and socially distant, while the corridors will have arrows that indicate to students the path they should follow.
Signage is also available in all schools reminding students to keep their masks on at all times. Masks can only be removed during designated breaks and during lunch.
All students must also pass a health check when they arrive at school.
Elsewhere in the United States, researchers have identified a lot 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 bind to cells.
It is not yet clear whether this mutation changes how contagious or how dangerous the virus is.
In the meantime, North Carolina continues its effort to make COVID-19 tests available to those in need.
Four new locations are opening 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 testing the COVID-19 here.
Copyright © 2021 WTVD-TV. All rights reserved.