NC coronavirus update January 6: Governor Roy Cooper will update COVID 19 on Wednesday after mobilizing the National Guard to help with vaccinations

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) – Here are the latest updates on COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, in North Carolina.

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10 in the morning
A COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Goldsboro ran out of doses available for the day after it opened early due to high demand.

Health workers at the Maxwell Center began helping to vaccinate the elderly just before 8 p.m. The goal of the clinic is to vaccinate 300 people every day for the rest of the week.

On Thursday, the Wayne County Health Department is hosting another clinic for those 75 and older at the Peggy M. Seegars Center for the Elderly in Goldsboro from 9 a.m. to noon.

WEDNESDAY MORNING Stories

The Roy Cooper government and the state coronavirus working group will provide an update on the state response to COVID-19 on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, Governor Cooper mobilized the NC National Guard to help distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.

Fifty National Guard employees were assigned to the Kinston, Butner and Concord Emergency Management Centers.

SEE: Is there a gap in COVID-19 vaccinations in NC? Dr. Mandy Cohen, NCDHHS, explains

“Ensuring COVID-19 vaccines are administered quickly is our top priority right now,” Cooper tweeted Tuesday. “We will use all the necessary resources and staff.”

You can watch the briefing live on ABC11 and abc11.com.

More than 3,700 people in North Carolina are in the hospital because of COVID-19. The number of deaths related to COVID-19 is expected to exceed 7,000 on Wednesday, as this number is currently at 6,996. The positive daily percentage test rate is 16.2%, well above the state target rate of 5%.

More than 3 million Americans were vaccinated on Tuesday. This pushes the total number of vaccinated Americans to almost 20 million.

TUESDAY

9:30 p.m.
Michael Lozano, from ABC11, spoke with Rep. Billy Richardson, a Democrat from District 44, wrote a letter to Governor Roy Cooper and the General Assembly on Sunday urging them to convene the General Assembly again and deploy the NC National Guard.

The congressman was forced to write the 600-word letter after a close friend of his, from Fayetteville, died of COVID-19.

“He touched me so much, because his brother was a dear friend and, um, I said, ‘Enough. You have to know, I examined my own conscience and said I wasn’t doing enough as a representative, ‘”Richardson said.

Part of the letter says that the rising levels of COVID-19, along with the low vaccination rate, have been “disturbing”. Richardson told ABC11 that the deployment and incorporation of the NC National Guard and Emergency Management will have a major impact on state efforts.

“Our health care people don’t have to organize and screw it up. That can make our wonderful guardian,” Richardson said.

The congressman said the move would allow the state to catch up and lead the vaccinations.

“We are North Carolinaers. We may not start as fast as others, but we learn quickly and adapt. And at the end of the day, we will vaccinate our people,” Richardson said.
6:40 p.m.
The National Guard has released more information about its plan to help vaccinations in the state.

The North Carolina National Guard said it mobilized about 50 staff yesterday and today in support of anticipated requests from state partners and county health departments. The guard will be operational this week.

Some of the planned activities include logistical planning, support from the command and control center and vaccination teams that will be available to support state efforts and security college staff.

Currently, the logistics and command and control staff will be assigned to work with the Division of the DPS Regional Emergency Management Coordination Centers in Kinston, Butner and Concord. Vaccination teams will be mobile with time and locations still under development by DPS and DHHS.

The NC Guard will administer the COVID-19 vaccine next week, on a voluntary basis, to the guards who support the COVID-19 state response.

Between March 6, 2020 and July 31, 2020, NCNG had 940 service members who supported NC DHHS and DPS COVID-19 response. Their missions were PPE distribution, COVID-19 testing, food distribution, cyber support and warehouse management and operations.

The Guard ceased support for COVID-19 at the end of July 2020 and resumed support for COVID-19 on 23 September 2020 by approx. 180 employees who provide assistance for food bank testing and COVID-19.

1:20 p.m.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported that 109,799 people have received the first dose of the vaccine in the state so far.

That number may be under-reported, as there could be a gap of up to 72 hours in reporting.

This number also does not include the 165,990 doses that have been allocated to long-term care units. As of Jan. 4, CVS and Walgreens reported to NCDHHS that there were 13,338 doses administered through the federal program to long-term care units in NC.

1:15 p.m.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in North Carolina continues to rise.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported that there were 3,781 people with the virus in the hospital. That has increased by 146 months and a record so far in the pandemic.

382 confirmed COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the last 24 hours.

The percentage of positive tests is 16.2 percent, well above the state target of 5 percent.

A total of 5,285 new cases were reported on Tuesday.

Another 55 deaths were reported. This brings the number in the state to 6,996 since the beginning of the pandemic.

1:05 p.m.
The Roy Cooper government is mobilizing the National Guard to help COVID-19 vaccination efforts in North Carolina.

Cooper wrote on Twitter that the main reception of the state is the rapid administration of vaccines. He said the use of the National Guard will help local health care providers increase vaccination rates.

This message comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.

At 13:00

The first recipients of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine began receiving the second dose on Tuesday at UNC Medical Center.

The hospital said it had vaccinated 14,000 employees since the vaccine became available a few weeks ago. These employees now receive the follow-up dose, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

UNC Health said employees at UNC REX in Raleigh will begin receiving the second dose on Thursday.

10:50 in the morning
For the second time, Cypress of Raleigh confirmed a COVID-19 outbreak.

Cypress of Raleigh is a community of retirees and a health care center located in North Raleigh.

The facility had its first outbreak in August. The state defines an outbreak as two or more confirmed cases in a congregation setting.

According to NCDHHS rules, the facility must fall back to previous restrictions and not allow any visitors for 28 days.

Specifications regarding the number of confirmed cases per unit or whether these cases are among staff or residents have not been released.

TUESDAY MORNING STORYLINES

Seniors at a Raleigh community center will receive life-saving vaccines on Tuesday.

The Cardinal from the elderly community of North Hills will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for about 300 staff members and residents. The group is among those at risk and is part of the demographic group eligible for the early stages of the state in the vaccine launch plan.

SEE ALSO: North Carolina among 7 states with lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate, says CDC

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said some areas may move to Phase 1B in the vaccine launch plan. This phase includes adults aged 75 or over and essential front-line workers.

This is happening while some of the Phase 1A health workers have not yet been offered the vaccine.

All this is happening while state and federal officials admit that the launch of the vaccine did not go as well as they hoped.

“There were a few mistakes. It’s understandable,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci. “We’re not where we want to be, there’s no doubt about that.”

There are no specific dates yet when the next phases of vaccine launch will begin or any procedure you can sign up for to be notified when it’s your turn.

Health officials say it’s important to be patient. NCDHHS directs people to this website for more information about the vaccine phases.