Today’s Coronavirus-December 14: 1 Year With Vaccine

Ann Blyth

On the anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper and his supreme public health authority, Mandy Cohen, nodded to the future with a new secretary and looked back on the coronavirus pandemic. .. Leading health and welfare services.

After more than 22 months of discussions with North Carolina and podium reporters at the State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, Cohen gave the final presentation of the charts, graphs, and data used to guide the pandemic response.

Cohen, who has been a secretary to the State Department of Health and Human Services since 2017, announced a few weeks ago that he would resign at the end of this month and try something else. The doctor and the mother of the two daughters have not revealed what it is.

She countered speculation that she would run for the US Senate in North Carolina next year and provided another clue when asked if she would work for the Biden administration.

“I would like to continue to make sure that I am doing something that could affect the lives and public health of the community, but I don’t think it will play a role in public services in the future.” Said Cohen.

Cooper used DHHS Secretary of Health and Welfare Cody Kinsley to steal the baton from Cohen and take North Carolina to the next stage of pandemic response and recovery.

Subject to state Senate approval, the transfer to Kinsley will compete with yet another COVID strain, the Omicron mutant, in North Carolina.

First detected in South Africa, public health officials in Mecklenburg County have found that highly contagious variants are Detected in Charlotte earlier this month After a fully vaccinated UNC-Charlotte student returns from an out-of-state trip. The student showed mild symptoms, UNC-C officials told reporters.. This was the first case detected in North Carolina, but public health officials speculate that it was not the only case here caused by Omicron.

While the delta type remains predominant in North Carolina, scientists studying Omicron, which moves quickly around the world, suffer from its extreme ability to easily pass from person to person.

Cohen was asked what he thought of the data from South Africa, the first country to report Omicron variants. This indicates that infected people are less severe than those found in the Delta variant. Should North Carolina expect a similar pattern?

“What I think of Omicron is that we are still learning,” Cohen replied. “Early data show that it’s certainly much more contagious than the delta type, but it turns out to be less serious.”

Leading epidemiologist Omicron ultimately expects Defeat Delta For control in multiple countries.

“I think we’re still trying to understand from science and data what that lower level of severity is causing,” Cohen said. “Is it mainly infected by young people who tend to be less severe in the first place? Or is it because there are many people who have been vaccinated or have been infected with COVID in the past?” I think I’m still trying to figure out why. “

Cohen could use more data and more time to study the Omicron pattern and find that this variant causes as serious a disease as found in the Delta strain. Said there is.

That uncertainty remains as Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Day approach. In North Carolina, cases of COVID are increasing again. According to the DHHS dashboard.. On Tuesday, there were 1,932 cases confirmed by tests, and one day last week, 4,153 cases were seen.

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-related illnesses has steadily increased over the past two weeks. on Tuesday, 1,575 people were hospitalized, of whom 439 were in the intensive care unit., According to the dashboard.

Holiday soaring?

Cohen speculated that Thanksgiving gatherings and cold weather that pushed more people indoors, where the virus spreads more easily, contributed to the increase.

In 2020 and early 2021, North Carolina experienced a surge in cases after the year-end holidays, straining the medical system and killing thousands more.

On December 14, 2020, Katie Passaretti, Director of Infection Prevention and Medical Care at Charlotte’s Atrium Health, said: Became the first person to receive the COVID vaccine in North Carolina.

Since then, more than 6.5 million people have been vaccinated at least once. According to the DHHS vaccination dashboard.. The dashboard shows that approximately 1,981,000 booster shots were administered.

Cooper and Cohen have consistently touted the vaccine as the best weapon against COVID and a tool that can help North Carolina survive the pandemic.

“As new variants emerge and COVID continues to circulate, being vaccinated and then boosted is the best way to protect yourself and get out of this pandemic,” Cooper said. .. “Vaccines and boosters are widely available and you can make a promise today to give yourself this protection and more peace of mind.”

In another place

This year, unlike last year when vaccines weren’t widely available, Cooper and Cohen would be with their loved ones if they had vaccinations, boost immunization, pre- and post-event testing, and wearing indoor masks in public. They say they can enjoy their vacation together.

“When we enter this holiday season, we’re in a different place than last year,” says Cohen. “It’s been a year since we got a powerful tool. Vaccines really helped us beat this pandemic.”

According to Cohen, thanks to the vaccine, North Carolina has no state-wide masking obligations or other restrictions that were enforced last year.

“People can get together safely by being vaccinated, boosted, using tests, and using masks,” Cohen said. “There are safe ways to make people enjoy their vacation, but I’m still worried about the capacity of our hospital.

“We are looking at a more contagious version of COVID, a variant of Omicron on the horizon. We know we are entering winter, which is what we like about the COVID virus. Winter So, when we enter these winter months, there is a lot of tension in our hospital.

Influenza and COVID circulation

Tuesday morning, North Carolina reported First flu death of the season..

Many of the symptoms of influenza are similar to COVID-19, but adults in the western part of the state who died in the second week of December tested positive for influenza instead of COVID.

State officials did not disclose the person’s name, place of origin, county, age, or gender because of concerns about family privacy.

The disastrous news urged state epidemiologist Zack Moore to encourage everyone not only to be vaccinated against COVID, but also to be vaccinated against the flu.

The North Carolina flu season begins in October and lasts until May.

“This is a sad thing that reminds us that influenza is a serious illness that can lead to complications and even death,” Moore said in a statement. “Influenza vaccination is more important than ever this year as the number of influenza cases is increasing and the COVID-19 pandemic is underway.

In North Carolina, the number of influenza cases was unusually low in 2020, and many people wore masks due to the coronavirus pandemic, limiting the number of people and people who could gather.

However, during the five pre-pandemic flu seasons, DHHS press releases showed that flu killed between 186 and 391.

As the number of COVID cases increases again, health officials are seeing a pattern similar to influenza, as the cold can push people indoors and the virus can spread more rapidly in confined spaces. ..

“Unfortunately, the number of cases of COVID-19 is increasing in the middle of the flu season, and the demand for hospital beds in the state is increasing,” Kinsley said in a statement.

Seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended annually by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for people over 6 months of age. COVID shots are recommended for children under the age of 5 and everyone above. Shots can be given at the same time, according to DHHS officials.

“Use the tool”

According to one of Cohen’s charts, children up to the age of 5 have been eligible for a child-sized vaccine since last month, but of the children aged 5 to 11 years, two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were given once. Only 17%. Shared at her last briefing. Forty-six percent of children aged 12 to 17 years have been vaccinated with at least one COVID vaccine, and only 56% of the population aged 18 to 24 have been vaccinated.

As cases of COVID begin to increase again, children and young adults in the least vaccinated age group are at the mercy of infection, Cohen said.

Cohen vaccinated her daughter in November, the first weekend in which children under the age of 12 were targeted for shooting. She encourages other parents to do the same.

Many people are fed up with pandemics, but the presence of COVID remains a factor in how people get together.

“We looked at the data today, so everyone needs to be vigilant,” Cohen said. “The virus is still here. But we have the tools to defeat this pandemic. Vaccines are our tools. Hope people take away from our message today. Is to be vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible. There are other tools. Make sure you are taking the test when you go to your family gathering for the holidays. Test yourself before and after your trip and never wear a mask indoors or in public.

“At this point everyone knows what to do. Just use a tool that you know will work.”

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