Press Releases

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.

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.

North Carolinians vaccinated by the Veterans Administration (VA) and through the Tribal Health Program are now eligible for the $4 Million Summer Cash and College Tuition drawings announced last week by Governor Roy Cooper to motivate people to get vaccinated as soon as they can — and thank those who already have.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the state is expanding availability of its at-home COVID-19 test collection. Any North Carolina resident may receive a Pixel by Labcorp® COVID-19 PCR Test Home Collection Kit that is shipped overnight directly to their homes at no cost. Tests can be used on people age 2 and up.

There is increasing urgency for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the more dangerous new Delta variant is rapidly spreading in the United States, including in North Carolina. Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified the Delta variant as a ‘variant of concern’ because it spreads faster than current COVID-19 variants. Early studies from the United Kingdom have also shown a possible increased risk of hospitalization in people infected with the Delta variant. The currently available COVID-19 vaccines are the best protection against the virus and its variants.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching an expanded COVID-19 screening testing program to support public, charter and private K-12 schools in protecting students and staff from the spread of COVID-19. The program will launch in fall 2021 and schools can register to participate beginning in early July.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced more than 80% of adults 65 and older in the state have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced North Carolina has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) food assistance program through Summer 2021. The P-EBT program helps families with eligible children whose access to free or reduced-price meals at school or other food assistance has been impacted by COVID-19. Summer P-EBT is an extension of benefits for the 2020-2021 school year.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the selection of organizations to serve three regions of the state, marking a major milestone towards launching the nation’s first comprehensive program to test evidence-based, non-medical interventions designed to reduce costs and improve the health of Medicaid beneficiaries. The groundbreaking program will create a systematic approach to integrating and financing non-medical services that address housing stability, transportation access, food security and interpersonal safety into the delivery of health care.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced all Medicaid beneficiaries currently eligible to transition to managed care have selected or been assigned a health plan with 97% enrolled in a plan that includes their current primary care provider (PCP) in network.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching a new public campaign encouraging North Carolinians to "Vax Up or Mask Up” to support the new guidance that lifts many of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.

A new tool created by the NC Department of Health and Human Services that maps social vulnerability and vaccination rates by census tract has helped North Carolina vaccine providers increase vaccinations by 50 percent in 89 underserved communities.

As part of its ongoing effort to get more North Carolinians vaccinated and safely bring summer back, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is offering $25 Summer Cash Cards at select vaccine sites to offset the time and transportation costs of getting vaccinated.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today expanded its NC COVID-19 Dashboard to include a new metric – wastewater monitoring. Since January 2021, NCDHHS has been testing wastewater samples to look for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as part of the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System. This new statewide program, known as the North Carolina Wastewater Monitoring Network, is a collaboration between 11 wastewater utilities, 8 local public health departments and researchers at the University of North Carolina.