The North Carolina National Guard said it has received the first allocation of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Medics will begin providing the voluntary vaccine shots to Guardsmen currently supporting the state's COVID-19 response after completing the prescribed vaccine training in the coming week.
5:08 p.m.
An offender with pre-existing medical conditions at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women who tested positive for COVID-19 has died at a hospital.
"We continue working diligently to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons because the health and safety of the staff and the offender population continues to be our top priority," said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. "We sympathize with the offender's family, as losing a loved one is hard enough, but especially so during the holiday season."