By the Numbers: Covid-19 updates in New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender for week of Mar 1 portcitydaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from portcitydaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The FDA gave emergency use approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over the weekend and now the CDC has to approve its distribution, expected today, Sunday, Feb. 28. (Port City Daily/File)
SOUTHEASTERN NC Over the weekend the FDA approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use. It now awaits approval from the CDC for distribution. Once that happens, the nation will be gearing up for more supply, as almost 4 million doses will be available immediately, upping vaccine supply to states by 25%. Doses could increase by 20 million by the end of March.
Gov. Roy Cooper and N.C.’s top health official, Mandy Cohen, addressed the one-dose shot at last week’s press conference, saying more information will be communicated this week upon its possible rollout.
Covid-19 numbers continue to track a downward trend on infections as vaccinations rise. (Port City Daily/File)
SOUTHEASTERN NC As vaccinations continue to rise, N.C. continues its downward streak of new cases weekly, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Though Saturday, Feb. 20, had more than 3,400 cases in one day 685 were accounted for from numbers at the end of December today the dashboard is reporting 2,500 cases. It’s a vast decline from Feb. 3’s last major spike of more than 12,000 new cases in one day.
Positive tests rose a little this week to 7.1%. positivity test rate, with 840,096 people in the state reported as contracting Covid-19 since March 2020 up by 21,372 since last week.
Vaccinations continue across New Hanover County, including at the MLK Center downtown on 10th Street. (Port City Daily/Courtesy of New Hanover County)
SOUTHEASTERN NC For the first time in months, North Carolina is experiencing a downtick in cases as more than 1 million vaccines roll out in the state’s battle against Covid-19. The combination of less cases and more vaccines administered is the way to overcome this year-long worldwide pandemic, according to scientists and health professionals.
On the County Alert System, 66 North Carolina counties are in the red zone, indicating critical viral spread, while 33 are in the orange, showing substantial spread; six remain in the yellow with significant spread. New Hanover has been downgraded to orange, while Brunswick and Pender remain red.
The number of people who are vaccinated more than doubled over the past week. On Jan. 18, a total of 573,130 doses had been given across N.C. By Jan. 27, that number was up to 1.18 million. (Port City Daily/Courtesy New Hanover County)
SOUTHEASTERN NC Approximately 300 days into the pandemic, North Carolina is continuing to see Covid-19 cases rise as health officials double down on efforts to vaccinate the people most at risk of infection.
As of Saturday morning, North Carolina has reported 752,627 cases and 9,287 deaths. The seven-day rolling average for new cases remained relatively stable – 6,199 on Jan. 18 and 6,168 on Jan. 30.
The percent of test results returning positive has fallen, though, from 10.5% to 8.4%. Health officials previously have considered a positivity rate of less than 5% a goal in slowing the spread of the virus.