Today, the North Carolina Healthcare Association (NCHA) announced its position approved by the association’s board of trustees supporting COVID-19 vaccination requirements for healthcare workers. NCHA also announced several of its member health systems intend to be first in the state to require COVID-19 vaccination for their employees, including Atrium Health, Cone Health, Duke University Health System, Novant Health, Wake Forest Baptist Health and the following UNC Health hospitals – UNC Medical Center, UNC Rex, UNC Johnston, UNC Chatham, UNC Rockingham and UNC Southeastern.
Press Releases
In its effort to provide all with access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area Agency on Aging (PTRC AAA) to provide free COVID-19 vaccinations to people with limited mobility who cannot leave their home. This new initiative expands PTRC AAA’s successful local at-home vaccination program to communities across the state.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. today announced the second round of winners of the state’s Your Shot at A Million Summer Cash Drawing and Summer Cash 4 College drawings at the State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine data dashboard now includes vaccination information from federal providers, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Prisons and Indian Health Service. The new data provides a more accurate representation of how many North Carolinians have been vaccinated. This federal data is now included in the statewide percent of population by age group that has received at least one dose and those who are fully vaccinated.
Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed July Adolescent Immunization Awareness Month to highlight the importance of immunizations for North Carolina’s preteens and teens. As teachers, parents and students are preparing for the start of the 2021-22 school year, public health officials remind parents and guardians to ensure their teens and preteens are current on all their vaccinations and encourage health care providers to take steps to ensure their young patients are up to date.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is urging all unvaccinated North Carolinians to get a COVID-19 vaccine as cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been inching up across the state. North Carolina’s early warning systems are showing more people going to the emergency department with COVID-like illness and elevated viral levels in wastewater in certain regions of the state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today updated North Carolina’s vaccine data on its COVID Data Tracker. The number of vaccine doses administered for North Carolina increased by 621,198 doses in addition to regularly uploaded data.
Bladen County, which has a vaccination rate of only 33%, is experiencing critical viral spread and increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Today’s COVID-19 County Alert System report shows the county is now red. State health officials urge people to get vaccinated now to protect themselves and the community from serious illness and virus-related hospitalization and death.
To help Medicaid beneficiaries get the accurate information they need to make an informed decision about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will reimburse Medicaid providers for providing counseling on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is expanding the number of locations providing $25 Summer Cards to offset the time and transportation costs of getting vaccinated. Beginning this week, participating vaccination sites in 45 counties will offer the cards to anyone 18 and older who gets their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine — or drives someone to their vaccination.