RALEIGH, N.C. — Governor Roy Cooper announced he will visit Greensboro on Wednesday as the FEMA Mass Vaccine Clinic opens.
The clinic will run for eight weeks and aims to give 3,000 vaccines a day.
He said more than 1.1 million people have already been vaccinated for COVID-19 across the state but there are still millions waiting to get the vaccine.
“With almost 8 million adults in our state, there is more work to do – but this is a huge milestone,” Cooper said.
He also said the state will continue to monitor the progress with both COVID-19 metrics and vaccine distribution to guide decisions about future executive orders.
“If we do this right, we will see even more progress as we move into the spring,” Cooper said.
State leaders also said to continue with prevention efforts.
“Let’s not get caught celebrating too early. Let’s keep wearing our masks and being responsible so that one day soon we can turn the corner on this pandemic,” Cooper said.
He warned North Carolinians must remain vigilant in the fight against COVID-19.
“This isn't the time to abandon our prevention efforts. Until the vaccine is widely available, preventing the spread of the virus must continue to be a focus. There are times in football when the runner nears the goal line, begins celebrating too early and is stripped of the ball,” Cooper said.
He also said more schools are returning to in-person learning.
“With children back in school and vaccine distribution well under way, there are more signs of hope that we are making progress toward putting this pandemic behind us. The percent of tests that are positive is consistently around 5% and our hospital numbers remain stable,” Cooper said.
It also comes as we start to see whether eased restrictions on businesses are having any impact on COVID-19 trends. So far, the numbers are stable.
Monday, labs confirmed just over 1,200 new cases - the fewest in more than a month, and 4.6% of recent tests were positive. A little more than 1,100 people are in hospitals statewide, battling COVID-19. At least 11,552 people have died from COVID-19 in North Carolina.