RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday during a state task force briefing, North Carolina's COVID-19 trends are showing promising progress.
"We are grateful to see this latest surge in COVID-19 taper off. As we try to drive down our numbers, we know what works. Vaccines. The more people who get their shots, the less COVID we’ll have," Cooper said.
NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen presented COVID-19 data on the four key metrics the state is closely watching. In all key areas, the numbers are going down.
That's good news, but state leaders say the fight against the virus isn't over.
"We are making great progress, but we need to keep working to continue the downward trend, because hospitalizations and deaths are still too high," Cooper said.
North Carolina health leaders are still recommending masks indoors and K-12 schools, citing the nearly all-red map from the CDC, showing North Carolina still in the high transmission phase.
"We're trying to forecast for folks that things are getting better as I shared in our trends and we are going to be looking at the CDC guidance that says as you do improve out on the horizon there are opportunities for us to think about stepping that back but were not close to that and we were reiterating that today in our guidance," said Secretary of NCDHHS Dr. Mandy Cohen.
As the country waits to see what federal health leaders say about the Pfizer vaccine in kids 5-11, the state is preparing for approval.
"We have more than 750 locations state-wide gearing up to be ready to go including doctors' offices, pharmacists, pharmacies, local health departments, and community vaccine events," said Dr. Cohen.
As of Tuesday, 71% of North Carolina adults have taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"Right now, every unvaccinated person is another foothold allowing this virus to regain strength. So keep talking with your friends, family, employees and coworkers about getting vaccinated so we can put this pandemic in the rearview mirror," Cooper said.
Vaccination rates will go up even more once given the green light from federal health officials. On Tuesday, an FDA advisory board voted to approve Pfizer's vaccine for kids aged 5-11. The FDA will vote on that recommendation this week, and the CDC will get the final say on who gets the vaccine and when.
The governor said North Carolina is prepared to get the vaccine out quickly to young children.
"North Carolina health officials have been preparing for this and working to ensure parents can easily get their children vaccinated and protected," Cooper said.
COVID-19 DATA
On Wednesday, labs confirmed more than 2,100 new cases statewide. Those cases make up 5.3% of recent tests - right on par with the state's goal of 5% or lower.
Just more than 1,400 people are in North Carolina hospitals with the virus. The patient count has declined day-to-day for more than a month now.
Cone Health in Greensboro is caring for 74 COVID-19 patients - 85% of them are unvaccinated.
In Guilford County, leaders are discussing if they need to review the county's indoor mask mandate. The order states the mandate will stay in effect until January 8 unless modified or revoked. It also notes commissioners will re-evaluate the rule as COVID-19 trends change. For example, if the positivity rate is at or below 5% for three consecutive weeks, or when the vaccination rate reaches 70%. Guilford County hasn't quite met either goal but is close.
In Guilford County, 67% of adults are fully vaccinated. For everyone eligible, 12 and older, 65% is fully vaccinated. As for the total population, 56% is fully vaccinated - and that group includes young children, who aren't yet eligible. That could change, as the FDA and CDC decide very soon whether Pfizer's pediatric vaccine is safe.
COVID-19 vaccinations by age in North Carolina
- 12-17: 45%
- 18-24: 50%
- 25-49: 59%
- 50-64: 72%
- 65-74: 86%
- 75+: 91%
- Total: 59%