COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Aug. 13
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
20 coronavirus-related deaths reported
At least 1,107,414 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 13,826 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 6,628 new COVID-19 cases, up from 5,900 on Thursday.
Twenty coronavirus-related deaths were added on Friday. Deaths don’t necessarily occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as more information becomes available.
At least 2,483 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday, up from 2,409 the day before. The patient count has been rising since July 9, when the state had 409 patients, The News & Observer reported.
As of Wednesday, the latest date available, 11.6% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 63% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and about 58% have been fully vaccinated. State health officials round vaccination numbers to the nearest whole number.
Some fear college campuses not ready for COVID
While campus leaders says they are more prepared to handle the coronavirus this year with mask mandates and vaccines, some students and staff fear it won’t be enough.
“I will be very surprised if we get through this semester without shutting down,” said Sue Estroff, professor of social medicine and anthropology at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Vaccines aren’t required on campus, and dorms and classrooms will operate at full capacity, The News & Observer reported.
“The pressure to behave as if we weren’t in the midst of a second surge of the pandemic is huge,” Estroff said. “I wish it weren’t that way. I don’t think any of us is fooled by this.”
18% of NC has mask mandate again
About 18% of the population in North Carolina is under a mask mandate, or will be within a few days, according to a News & Observer analysis.
That doesn’t account for areas where masks are only required in indoor government buildings, which is more common. Most of the counties with a mask requirement are in or near the Triangle.
Durham County and the City of Durham are on the list, as are Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Raleigh.
ICU beds fill up in the Triangle
Intensive care units in Triangle hospitals have been filling up with COVID-19 patients as the delta variant continues to spread.
As of Friday, 635 adult patients are in intensive care — a quarter of all people hospitalized in the state, The News & Observer reported.
Duke University Hospital and Duke Health Raleigh have reported their ICUs are full. There are anywhere from two to six ICU beds available at other area hospitals, including Duke Regional Hospital in Durham, the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill, UNC Rex Hospital in Raleigh and WakeMed’s Raleigh campus.
Dr. David Kirk, critical care specialist at WakeMed, said it can expand capacity as it did during the winter surge.
“Our numbers went from essentially nothing to where we are in two weeks,” Kirk said. “That definitely has taken us aback. That being said, we’re not having any problems taking care of the patients that we have. We’ve got capacity. We’ve got what we need.”
NC lawmaker hospitalized after announcing wife has COVID
N.C. Rep. Keith Kidwell, a Beaufort County Republican, has been hospitalized after announcing on Facebook that his wife tested positive for the coronavirus.
House Speaker Tim Moore confirmed Kidwell is hospitalized but couldn’t say on Friday whether he also had the virus, The News & Observer reported.
“I can’t say. We are checking,” Moore told The N&O.
Theater cancels shows after actors test positive for COVID
Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte canceled the final performances of “Rock of Ages” and its upcoming show “Head over Heels” after two cast members tested positive for the coronavirus.
Both of the actors were fully vaccinated, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The theater attributed its decision to cancel to concerns about the health and safety of the cast, crew and audience as well as the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
“As a fully vaccinated company, ATC wants to dedicate appropriate time and resources to COVID safety,” the theater said.
GOP school board members may face discipline over mask mandate
The Wake County Republican Party is planning to censure two school board members after they backed a measure requiring face masks in schools.
The Wake County School board unanimously approved a continuation of the mask requirement last week, The News & Observer reported. The vote included the board’s two GOP members: Karen Carter and Roxie Cash.
Mark Cavaliero, first vice chair of the Wake GOP, said many of the party members are “disappointed and angry” and have called for the formal censure.
Carter told The N&O she wants in-person learning to continue and that the current health guidance recommends masks.
“I’m here to consider all that and not just to be doing what a party tells me what I ought to do,” she said. “I’m here for the students.”
COVID infections low among vaccinated in Mecklenburg
Health officials in Mecklenburg County said they are aware of 412 coronavirus cases among fully vaccinated residents between March 22 and Aug. 11.
There were more than 17,000 coronavirus cases in all recorded during that time, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Health officials have warned the true number of breakthrough infections in the Charlotte area could be higher than current data suggests. Mecklenburg is relying on self-reported accounts of breakthrough cases based on contact tracing.
Raleigh, Wake to enact face mask mandate
The city of Raleigh will require residents to wear face masks in indoor public spaces and businesses starting at 5 p.m. Friday. Wake County will also issue an order next week that will cover unincorporated parts of the city.
“The best information we have available to us indicates that cases are on the rise, there is a threat to the health and safety of our folks and that is going to impact, not just infection rates, but burdens on hospitals (and) death rates due to COVID-19,” Commissioners Chair Matt Calabria told the county’s mayors on Friday.
The Wake order will apply to roughly 200,000 county residents who live outside town and city limits.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said Thursday she would support an indoor face mask mandate.
“Wake County health experts are making this recommendation based on recent data,” she said. “We have to take steps to ensure public safety, protect our small businesses and do everything we can to prevent another lockdown.”
Two clusters of cases reported at Duke
Two clusters of coronavirus cases have been tied to Duke University, officials said.
One of the clusters involved 29 medical students, and seven people on the women’s field hockey team were included in the other. The students received positive COVID-19 test results after gatherings in Durham, The News & Observer reported Friday.
All of the students were vaccinated, and many didn’t have symptoms of the virus, according to the school.
Charlotte doctors see more pregnant patients with COVID
Pregnant women are urged to get COVID-19 vaccines as an “unprecedented” number of expectant mothers are on ventilators due to the virus, Charlotte-area health experts said.
Novant Health doctors on Friday said the delta coronavirus variant is causing more pregnant women to get seriously sick.
“If they’re not vaccinated, they’re really putting themselves at far greater risk for a myriad of consequences — some of which will be impactful to their unborn children,” said Dr. Navin Bhojwani of the Novant Health Women & Children’s Health Institute.
Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance for pregnant women, saying they should get vaccinated.
Durham schools vote to require masks as Cooper calls for others to reconsider
Gov. Roy Cooper is pressing school board chairs to rethink their decisions about not requiring face masks this fall.
Cooper on Friday urged the leaders to follow health guidelines that recommend masks be worn in North Carolina school buildings, according to a letter that also had signatures from Dr. Betsey Tilson, state health director, and Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Keeping children and staff in the classroom full-time for in-person learning is essential and following these health guidelines is the best way to ensure it,” the letter said. “None of us wants to close schools for in-person learning.”
The message was sent one day after Durham Public Schools decided it will require K-12 students and staff to wear face coverings indoors this year.
In a unanimous vote, leaders on Thursday moved to also make a mask mandate for school buses. The district had already implemented rules for students attending schools year-round.
As of Wednesday, 59 of the 115 school districts in North Carolina are mandating masks. And 52 districts will make face coverings optional, The News & Observer reported.
NC ‘rapidly trying’ to get more contact tracers
North Carolina is quickly moving to get contact tracers as the coronavirus continues to spread in the state.
Though more than 2,400 contact tracers were once on the job, there are now 1,368 in full- and part-time positions, The News & Observer reported Friday. As the more contagious delta variant spreads, officials said it’s difficult to be fast enough at hiring contact tracers.
“We definitely did decrease our staff as cases went down (and) we decreased it pretty significantly,” said Erika Samoff, a contact tracing manager with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. “We are now rapidly trying to increase it again. And that’s hard work, but we’re doing our best.”
Atrium hospital reports delta COVID outbreak
At least 50 health care workers at Atrium Health Pineville have tested positive for COVID-19, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told The Charlotte Observer.
At least 70% of those workers were already vaccinated, a spokesperson said, and nine patients also have tested positive for the virus.
Alicia Campbell, facility executive of Atrium Health Pineville, told employees the delta variant is to blame.
“We are currently engaged in contact tracing and testing of any impacted teammates and patients in order to identify those needing care and to control the potential for further spread,” the message said.
Test site sending more patients to hospitals
One Charlotte-area COVID-19 testing provider is increasingly seeing emergency situations.
Hospital referrals are becoming “a lot more common” as the coronavirus continues to spread, said Dr. Arin Piramzadian, chief medical officer for StarMed. For example, the provider used to have emergencies every few days but sent four patients seeking COVID-19 tests to emergency rooms due to serious symptoms.
Piramzadian on Wednesday said demand for testing is on the rise just as the start of the school year approaches.
“It’s going to get very bad ...” Piramzadian told The Charlotte Observer. “The reality is once the CDC (in May) removed masking guidelines and with the delta variant being so contagious, it pretty much just ripped through the population.”
NC State students’ return could impact football team’s bubble
The football team at North Carolina State University has been in a “bubble,” but players will have to leave it when in-person classes start next week, The News & Observer reported.
Last year, coronavirus concerns forced the Wolfpack to reschedule their first game and Devin Leary, the starting quarterback, to miss the season opener. Head coach Dave Doeren said he doesn’t want that to happen again.
“I’m very hopeful that we learned our lesson from watching that horrible movie last year,” Doeren said. “I told them I don’t want to watch it again.”
This fall, the UNC System is requiring face masks indoors but not outdoors. There are concerns that having more students back on campus will bring risks, including for players who have been vaccinated.
“Last year, we were very good here from a COVID numbers standpoint until the student body showed up,” Doeren said. “Not to blame them, that’s just what happens when you put 30,000 young people on a college campus, you’re gonna have a lot of germs brought in and people are gonna get sick.”
Social media influencers helping to promote vaccination in NC
North Carolina leaders are partnering with social media stars to urge people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The efforts often aim to reach younger people, a group recently seeing a higher infection rate as the delta variant spreads through the state, The News & Observer reported.
In the past few months, people with large social media followings have been featured on a live stream video with Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
And Guilford County has partnered with dozens of people, including a lifestyle blogger who shared a photo of her vaccine card. Wake County plans to start a similar program.
“These personal conversations are really what’s going to get us over the finish line with COVID,” said Dawn Crawford of Wake County Public Health. “The more voices out there in our community we have sharing correct information, facts and personal experiences, the better.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 7:07 AM with the headline "COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Aug. 13."
