Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is extending open enrollment for NC Medicaid Managed Care through Friday, May 21. This extension will not impact the NC Medicaid Managed Care launch date of July 1, 2021.

In observance of National Dental Care Awareness Month this month and in its continuing commitment to improving health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the NC Oral Health Improvement Plan to stress the importance of oral health and to address oral health challenges affecting North Carolinians.

Based on a review of safety and effectiveness data from clinical trials in the United States and the expanded emergency authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the CDC today recommended use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 through 15. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ COVID-19 Support Services Program has helped more than 41,800 NC households isolate or quarantine during COVID-19.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging young adults (Ages 18-21) eligible for the state’s extended foster care program who left the program during the COVID-19 Pandemic due to their age to apply for re-entry to receive available services and support.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is in its final week of open enrollment for NC Medicaid Managed Care. Through Friday, May 14, beneficiaries can choose a primary care provider (PCP) and a health plan for their families’ care in preparation for the launch of NC Medicaid Managed Care on July 1.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will kick off the Bringing Summer Back campaign on May 9 with more than 140 partner organizations across the state registered to rally together to promote COVID-19 vaccination in their communities.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and its partners with the State Nutrition Action Coalition (SNAC) have released a new NC Food and Nutrition Resource Programs quick reference guide, which provides a snapshot of 14 different U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service programs available in North Carolina, like the Summer Nutrition Program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). These programs provide a vital source of support and aim to reduce food insecurity among under-served populations.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced more than 50% of adults 18 and older in the state have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. More than 43% of the adult population is fully vaccinated against the virus.

The North Carolina Radiation Protection Section of the NC Department of Health and Human Services has received a report of a measuring tool with a radioactive component that was stolen in Durham, N.C. The device, if handled inappropriately, can pose a potential health and safety risk.

More than 175,000 people currently living in North Carolina have been diagnosed with chronic viral hepatitis, and many more may have hepatitis but do not realize they are infected. To address this important health issue, Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed May as Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 as Hepatitis Testing Day.

The federally supported COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center in Greensboro at Four Seasons Town Centre today began offering the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is available in addition to the two-dose Pfizer vaccine already offered.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Aging and Adult Services is partnering with the N.C. Area Agencies on Aging and local service providers to distribute fans to eligible recipients through Operation Fan Heat Relief May 1–Oct. 31.

North Carolina leaders, including Governor Roy Cooper and Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. will take the virtual stage at the 2021 Opioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention Summit on May 4-6, 2021. Hundreds of national, state and local community leaders are coming together to discuss the integral role North Carolina’s communities play in prevention and response efforts across the state.

As the weather continues to warm up, state health officials urge North Carolinians to “Fight the Bite” by taking measures to reduce their risk of tick- and mosquito-borne infections. Preliminary data generated by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health indicate that in 2020, there were 957 confirmed, probable or suspected cases of tick-borne diseases in North Carolina and 46 cases of domestically acquired and travel-associated mosquito-borne diseases.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced it is expanding eligibility for food assistance benefits to help college students who are struggling to purchase food and stay in school during the pandemic.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Health Service Regulation today announced it has made a new temporary pathway available for individuals who worked in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic as temporary nurse aides to be listed on the Nurse Aide I Registry.

As of April 27, 2021, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with the NC Department of Public Instruction has provided more than $1 billion of groceries to more than a million children impacted by school closings during the pandemic. North Carolina was one of the first four states to receive federal approval of the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program when it launched.

Following a thorough safety review, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have confidence that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19 and recommend its continued use to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is recommending that providers in the state resume administration of the vaccine now that the CDC and FDA have reaffirmed its safety.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the Bringing Summer Back get-out-the-vaccine campaign that will engage community organizations across the state to fully vaccinate as many people as possible by summer.