KEY NC COUNTIES AND THEIR
COVID-19 VACCINATION RATES
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Approximately 61% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one shot of vaccination against COVID-19, with 58% being fully vaccinated.
That 58% now has some protection against the new, more virulent Delta variant which is the primary source of new infections and hospitalizations.
KEY NC COUNTIES COVID-19 VACCINATION RATES
As of Monday, August 2nd, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -
In New Hanover County, 55.7% of the total population (234,473) have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 47.1% (110,407) have been fully vaccinated.
In Guilford County, 53.4% of the total population (537,174) have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 45.9% (246,611) have been fully vaccinated.
In Mecklenburg County, 55% of the total population (1,110,356) have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 45.8% (508,192) have been fully vaccinated.
In Buncombe County, 55.2% of the total population (261,191) have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 51.3% (134,096) have been fully vaccinated.
On Monday, Dr. Michele Laws, PhD, MA, Assistant Director for Consumer Support Services/Community Stakeholder Engagement and Historically Marginalized Populations COVID-19 Response Team Lead for the NC Dept. of Health and Human Services, issued the following important directive concerning the current spike in COVID-19 cases in North Carolina:
After months of decline, North Carolina is experiencing a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases among those who are unvaccinated. Today (August 2), we had more than 3,000 cases reported. All of the state’s key metrics are increasing with hospitalizations doubling over the past two weeks, the number of people going to the emergency department with COVID-like symptoms.
UPDATED GUIDANCE - First, anyone who hasn’t gotten vaccinated yet, is urged to do so now to protect yourself and your community. Getting vaccinated prevents serious illness, hospitalizations and death, even with the Delta variant, and slows community spread. Rigorous clinical trials among thousands of people ages 12 and older, have proven that vaccines are safe and effective. More than 160 million Americans have been safely vaccinated.
If you are not vaccinated, you need to continue practicing the three Ws. Wear a mask in all indoor public settings. Wait six feet apart in all public settings. Wash your hands often. In addition, you should not gather with unvaccinated people who do not live with you. If you do, stay outside and keep 6 feet of distance. You also should not travel.
There are also still places where everyone in the state needs to wear a mask like health care settings, public transportation, large crowded indoor venues, and indoor places with large numbers of children. Per CDC’s updated guidance, all K-12 schools should require universal masking. We have updated our guidance for schools to align with this recommendation.
Our updated guidance also calls on all employers to take proactive action with their employees. All employers should require employees to report vaccination status. Employees who are not fully vaccinated should be required to wear a face covering indoors, maintain physical distancing from others, and get tested regularly. Cabinet-level state agencies are to implement this guidance for state employees, by Executive Order 224 from Gov. Roy Cooper.
This moment requires action. Our trends are accelerating at an alarmingly fast rate because of the highly contagious delta variant. If you are already vaccinated, please urge your unvaccinated family and friends to get their shot now. It is not an understatement to say that you will save lives by doing so. You can get accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines at YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov.
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WHY BLACKS CAN’T HESITATE
TO GET THE COVID-19 VACCINE
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
If you feel like you’re getting whiplash from all of the confusing advisories and directives concerning COVID - 19, and especially the now dominant Delta variant, you’re not alone.
But one fact remains clear - if you or yours remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus in any form, the risk, doctors and health officials say, could be a dire one.
“…[T]hings are going to get worse,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical advisor, told ABC News Sunday.
Especially for African-Americans.
Profound lack of trust of the government, of the medical profession, of the extremely fast vaccine development period, and waiting to see the affects of the vaccine on others are the main reasons why Blacks are hesitant to allow vital needles in their arms to stem the virus.
But after months of decline, the number of COVID - 19 cases have dramatically increased in the past several weeks as a result of the “hyper-contagious” Delta variant, and states across the country, including North Carolina, are scrambling to deal with the burgeoning outbreak. Indeed, 83% of new COVID-19 cases are directly connected to the Delta variant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
And of those cases, nearly 100% of the hospitalized are unvaccinated.
As of Monday, August 2nd, according to the CDC, whites (non-Hispanic) by far out pace other ethnic groups by 50%. Blacks (non-Hispanic) are 11.4% of national COVID-19 cases.
While whites comprise over 58% of deaths, Blacks are over 13% of COVID-19 deaths currently.
Evidence shows that the Delta variant can spread from human-to-human more quickly, and incubates much faster than it’s predecessor. So it won’t take you two weeks to determine if you’ve been infected.
In most cases, researchers say, it will take just four days.
And throw out any notions about the Delta variant being no more dangerous that the common cold or influenza, health experts say. While much more is still being determined because of the short period of time the world has been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, there is mounting evidence that beyond the initial illness - which, depending on one’s risk factor (age, general health, race/ethnicity, economic status) can range from severe respiratory illness to ultimately death, there are resulting neurological problems as patients get older.
There is also evidence that those who are vaccinated can be carriers of the Delta variant, and in some cases, can get sick from it, though not enough to require hospitalization, doctors say.
So getting either the two-shot Moderna or Pfizer vaccines is important protection to have if, for no other reason but to limit the severity of the Delta variant.
If you’re unvaccinated, regardless of whether you contract COVID-19 or it’s Delta variant, here’d what to look for in terms of symptoms, according to the CDC, that separate them from a common summer cold:
High fever or chills; severe shortness of breath; pronounced fatigue; strong muscle or body aches: constant headaches; noticeable los of taste or smell; bad sore throat; nose congestion; nausea or vomiting; constant diarrhea.
The current CDC guidance to help restrict and curtail the spread of the more contagious Delta variant is for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated to continue to wear face masks in public, especially indoors. That guidance is especially true for school children going into this fall.
Here in North Carolina, the most vaccinated counties are Orange, Wake and Durham. The least vaccinated are Harnett and Hoke. Since last Friday, over 8,600 more North Carolinians have tested positive for COVID-19, with over 1, 359 more people hospitalized.
Masks mandates are back in effect for many local and state government buildings. Gov. Cooper now requires vaccination verification for all state employees.
However, Republican NC Senate Pro Tem Phil Berger, in a fundraising letter last week, called the CDC guidance on making sure everyone - vaccinate and unvaccinated - continue wearing masks indoors, “guidance to ignore.”
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS for 08-05-21
WILMINGTON CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO MAKE CONFEDERATE FLAG REMOVAL PERMANENT
[WILMINGTON] The two Confederate statues that were temporarily removed from downtown over a year ago, will now be returned to the “superior owner,” Cape Fear 3, a local chapter of the United daughters of the Confederacy. Published reports note that after the city attorney researched the matter, the council voted to keep the two structures in storage until Cape 3 was ready to reclaim the them and find new locations, per agreement.
NHC SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO REQUIRE MASKS IN CLASS
[WILMINGTON] At the request of the New Hanover County NAACP, parents, other groups and CDC guidance, the NHC School Board Tuesday unanimously voted to require that all students in grades K-12 wear protective masks against COVID-19 during this upcoming semester. The board, which had to meet virtually because one member tested positive for the virus, made note of the rising number of cases in the county due to the contagious Delta variant. Columbus and Pender county school systems have voted not to mandate face masks, Bladen and Brunswick county school districts will decide next week.
NEW HANOVER D.A. DETERMINES THERE’S NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO FILE CHARGES OF INTIMIDATION OF NHC SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
[WILMINGTON] Apparently planning to intimidate members of the NHC School Board and Supt. Dr. Charles Foust not only at future board meetings, but also at their homes and businesses is not enough for charges to be filed. So says the NHC District Attorney’s Office, even though Dr. Foust and NHC School Board members filed complaints last month against two board meeting attendees who allegedly plotted on Facebook to make life difficult for the school officials. After the NHC Sheriff’s Dept. investigated and submitted a report to the DA, the decision was made that more would have to happen in order for the law to step in.
STATE PAYING $100 TO FOLKS GETTING THEIR FIRST COVID-19 VACCINE SHOTS
[GREENSBORO] If you are currently unvaccinated for COVID-19, the NC Dept. of Health and Human Services is offering to hand out $100 Summer Cards to those 18 or older for the entire month of August. And if you are driving someone to get their first shot, NCDHHS is willing to give you a $25.00 Summer Card. All of this is an effort to get as many North Carolinians as possible vaccinated to stem the current increase of COVID-19 cases across the state. To take part in the Summer Card Program, call 888-675-4567 or go to https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine-incentives.
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