Governor Roy Cooper’s final COVID press conference of the year echoed the messages of previous weeks: The numbers are worsening. Individuals must make “good decisions.” Prevention efforts are key.
Testing was predictably down over the Christmas holiday, but there were record numbers of hospitalizations--and the positive test rate has continued to climb, now exceeding 14%.
North Carolina’s Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen explained the CDC's updated vaccine distribution plan.
Since there are limited supplies available, vaccines will be given in phases. Right now we’re in phase 1A--the “Jumpstart Phase.” The folks getting the vaccine now are high-risk health workers and first-responders. Next will be older adults in congregate living and anyone with a condition that puts them at significantly higher risk.
Phase two will include K-12 staff and child care workers, critical workers in high-risk settings, folks in homeless shelters, incarcerated people, and all older adults not included in phase one. Children and young adults are in phase three, along with anyone not covered in previous phases.
But this process will take months. In a stark warning, the governor reiterated that the modified stay-at-home order--that’s from the hours of 10pm to 5am--would be in effect on New Year’s Eve. The governor hoped our collective resolution would be to keep each other safe.
