Press Releases

As of July 1, 2021, 77% of staff at state-operated health care facilities are fully vaccinated according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities, a state-operated healthcare system comprised of 14 facilities with more than 10,000 employees. In addition, 93% of residents in the state’s six congregate living facilities are fully vaccinated.

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.

Healthier Together, a public-private partnership between the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and NC Counts Coalition, has awarded $500,000 in grants to support community groups that will help North Carolina achieve its goal of delivering equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. After receiving 81 applications for the grants, the following organizations were selected to receive Healthier Together vaccine equity grants ranging from $7,000 to $50,000 to serve their corresponding counties:

Starting July 1, nearly 1.6 million Medicaid beneficiaries in North Carolina will begin receiving the same Medicaid services in a new way through NC Medicaid Managed Care health plans. Most beneficiaries will continue to get care from the same doctors they see today but will now be a member of a health plan. Some beneficiaries will not enroll with health plans and will remain in NC Medicaid Direct.

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.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health today released its Plan to End the HIV Epidemic in the state. One tenet of the plan is regular testing and health officials are urging those who may be at-risk to get screened and tested for HIV for National HIV Testing Day on June 27, 2021.

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.