North Carolina begins rolling out the coronavirus vaccine to Groups 1 and 2.
The one thing we’ve all been waiting for since March has finally arrived in North Carolina—the coronavirus vaccine. North Carolina started receiving doses from the federal government in December, with health care workers fighting COVID-19 and long-term care staff slated to be vaccinated first under the state’s vaccination distribution plan—which has been consistently updated since it was first released in October.
North Carolina moved into the next phase of the vaccine distribution plan in early January, which includes adults 65 years and older, regardless of health status or living situation. Group 3 includes front-line essential workers, defined by the CDC as “workers who are in sectors essential to the functioning of society and who are at substantially higher risk for exposure to COVID-19.”
Adults 16 to 64 years old with high-risk medical conditions who are at increased risk of severe illness will be next to receive the vaccine, including those diagnosed with conditions like obesity, sickle cell disease, chronic kidney disease, Down syndrome and Type 2 diabetes. Also eligible in the vaccine plan’s Group 4 are incarcerated individuals, people living in shelters or other group-living settings, and anyone who is deemed an essential worker by the CDC—construction workers; public health workers; and those working in public safety, food service, finance, information technology and communications, energy, legal and media sectors.
Soon after Group 4 receives the vaccine, anyone who wants to be vaccinated will be eligible. NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen says that supplies are still very limited, so it could be awhile before the average North Carolinian gets vaccinated—possibly as late as spring. However, Gov. Roy Cooper has mobilized the NC National Guard to “provide support to local health providers as we continue to increase the pace of vaccinations,” he said in a tweet on Jan. 5.
The Cardinal at North Hills, a luxury retirement community, was one of the first retirement communities in the state to get the Moderna vaccine. Executive Director Tom Ford says that they received the vaccine through CVS and distributed over 300 doses to their residents and employees on Jan. 5.
Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which has to be stored at subzero temperatures (minus 70 degrees Celsius), the Moderna vaccine only has to be kept at negative 20 degrees Celsius, which is closer to the temperature of an average freezer. More hospitals and other facilities will have the capabilities of storing and distributing the Moderna vaccine.
Ford says that CVS will be holding two additional clinics at The Cardinal—one 30 days from Jan. 5 to distribute the second dose and to anybody who missed the first dose, and another one 30 days after to distribute the second dose to the second batch of residents and employees.
Additionally, NCDHHS announced the state partnered with Honeywell, Atrium Health, Panthers owner Tepper Sports & Entertainment, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway to hold mass vaccination events at large-scale venues such as the Panthers stadium, the speedway and possibly the Spectrum Center. They aim to administer at least 1 million vaccinations by July 4.
On Friday, Jan. 29, Johnson & Johnson announced that its COVID-19 vaccine (a single-dose shot) is 66% effective at preventing “moderate to severe courses of COVID-19” and keeping people from going to the hospital or dying. Cohen expects that the vaccine will receive emergency authorization by the end of February, a crucial step in accelerating North Carolina’s vaccination distribution.
NCDHHS also partnered with 14 health systems, health departments and community centers in 13 NC counties to roll out more than 45,000 vaccines. The state has already administered over 1 million doses, and expects to receive about 145,000 doses of the vaccine each week for the next three weeks. You can keep track of how many NC residents have received the vaccination on the NCDHHS COVID-19 dashboard.
While waiting to get the vaccine, Cooper and Cohen advise everyone to continue wearing masks, washing your hands, avoiding crowds and staying home if you can. “Our top priority is helping local health departments distribute vaccines as quickly and equitably as possible, but this virus is spreading rapidly,” Cooper tweeted on Jan. 12. “To save lives, we have to wear our masks, stay socially distant and follow the safety protocols in place.”
WEB EXCLUSIVE A rooftop terrace with a view of the downtown and North Hills skylines? Now that’s an ideal living situation any Raleighite can get down with. 625 New Bern, a new modern condominium complex, offers all of that and more in a hip, burgeoning community on New Bern Avenue and Edenton Street—just minutes away from all the downtown Raleigh hot spots.
The condos, built by local home builder Legacy Custom Homes, are the definition of a modern oasis, and deliver a whole new contemporary draw to the area. Besides the excellent rooftop terrace—which will make for a great entertaining spot post-COVID, they also feature floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light to spill into every room, one-car garages and flex space for integrating a home office or home gym—a move that fits right in with the current pandemic situation.
Each of the units boasts a perfect balance of clean and contemporary design, function and style. Three stories and three bedrooms allow for the freedom to create your own unique vibe, whether you stick with the modern theme of the neighborhood or go for something more personal.
“625 New Bern is adding to the already modern architecture we are seeing in the Eastern corridor to downtown,” says local realtor Anne Mason. “Watching our city grow into this diverse community has been so fun. The developers and builders have artfully blended the new developments with our historic neighborhoods, adding to our already hot real estate market. ”
Six of the 625 New Bern condos are for sale now through Insight Real Estate.
If you need us, we’ll be daydreaming about sunbathing on the rooftop terrace, fruity mixed drink in hand.
Campbell U’s new Work Positive program puts a positive spin on work life.
WEB EXCLUSIVE We know. Sometimes your day job keeps you up at night. If complaining about your job has become your go-to topic, enter Work Positive from Campbell University’s Raleigh location.
Created by alumnus Dr. Joey Faucette and colleague Jane Creswell with the MO of “transforming company culture,” the innovative new program offers remote professional development courses through Campbell’s Adult & Online Education to improve employee outlook on both your current job—and overall career.
“Prior to COVID-19, Gallup reported almost 85% of Americans were dissatisfied in the current work environment,” says Faucette, best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World. “Research consistently shows positive work environments improve employee productivity, leading to better customer service and job satisfaction, as well as increases in operating income and company earnings.”
Dr. Sherryl McLaughlin, Adult & Online Education assistant dean and Raleigh site coordinator, says she and her peers were in the process of adding new programs to the university’s lineup pre-pandemic—which, since, only served to reinforce their vision of the need for online and remote training for businesses.
Program courses are on offer for small businesses and Fortune 500 corporations for individual or employee team training, and include three options: a two-month Keys to Work Positive program, a six-month Work Positive Manager Coach Training or a yearlong Get Positive Coach Training.
In the Keys to Work Positive program, for example, employees learn to use positive psychology and personal development skills to turn negative thoughts positive—so as to increase job satisfaction and boost work productivity to enable them to contribute to the company’s overall success.
“Despite the current situation, business leaders should be investing in resources to support their workers,” says Faucette. “Businesses that aren’t performing at full potential slow economic growth.”
WEB EXCLUSIVE Hockey is back, baby! While the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to traveling, getting together with friends, parties and the like, there’s at least one thing we can still look forward to and that’s sports. Even if you’re not the biggest sports fan, we’ve found that catching a game or two on TV brings some sense of normalcy back to our day-to-day.
This week, NHL season starts up again, with the Carolina Hurricanes playing their first game against the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 14. While there’s still no in-person attendance allowed, you can still catch the game from the comfort of your living room on Fox Sports Carolinas. (And, hopefully, fans will be able to return to PNC Arena soon.)
The Canes started training camp on Jan. 3 with 38 players—34 skaters and four goaltenders—including returning players Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Dougie Hamilton and Andrei Svechnikov. New to the team this year is former New York Rangers right-winger Jesper Fast, who has played a total of 422 career games and scored 29 points in 69 games last season.
Each NHL team will play a 56-game season, with the season officially kicking off on Jan. 13. According to CBS Sports, every team will only play divisional games this season in an effort to limit travel and potential COVID-19 exposure. As far as the playoffs are concerned, the top four teams in each division will qualify and four teams will advance to the Stanley Cup Semifinals.
While the NHL has done away with the “bubble” they established last year due to COVID, there are still many health and safety precautions in place. Each player will get their own hotel room during road trips; all coaches will be required to wear face masks on the bench; and teams must disclose when players have tested positive for COVID-19 and follow local isolation guidelines until they’re cleared by both a cardiologist and team physician to play again.
The Hurricanes puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 14. Let’s go Canes!
WEB EXCLUSIVE As expected, with people travelling for the holidays and/or getting together with their friends and families over the past couple of weeks, positive coronavirus numbers have significantly increased and hospitalizations are at a record high. Over just the last month, coronavirus-related hospitalizations have increased by 68 percent. The daily rate of positive cases is at 16.5 percent; NC DHHS secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen wants the state to be closer to 5 percent.
The numbers are concerning, and Governor Roy Cooper has expressed his concerns to the public many times already this year. On January 3, he tweeted: “The first two days of this year have broken case count records. These numbers need to be a wake up call.” Even though North Carolina has already started distributing the two approved vaccines (Pzifer and Moderna), it’s obvious that the virus is still very much a problem and we all need to continue doing our part to stop the spread.
Governor Roy Cooper on Twitter
Below, we share more information on the vaccine and how it will be distributed in North Carolina, as well as how COVID is continuing to affect people across the state.
VACCINE DISTRIBUTION
North Carolina moved into phase 1b of the vaccine distribution plan this week, however, because distribution varies by county, some places in the state are still in phase 1a. Phase 1a includes frontline healthcare workers and long-term care staff and residents, while phase 1b includes adults 75 years or older and frontline essential workers. Late last month, North Carolina amended its coronavirus vaccine distribution plan so that all adults over 75 would be prioritized under the first phase; previously only adults over the age of 75 were prioritized if they had underlying health conditions.
Phases 2 through 4 of the vaccine distribution plan can be seen below.
The Cardinal at North Hills, a luxury retirement community, is one of the first retirement communities in the state to get the Moderna vaccine. Executive director Tom Ford says that they received the vaccine through CVS and will be distributing over 300 doses today to their residents and employees. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which has to be stored at sub zero temperatures (minus 70 degrees Celsius), the Moderna vaccine only has to be kept at negative 20 degrees Celsius, which is closer to the temperature of an average freezer. More hospitals and other facilities will have the capabilities of storing and distributing the Moderna vaccine.
Ford says that CVS will be holding two additional clinics at The Cardinal—another one in 30 days to distribute the second dose and to anybody who missed the first dose, and another one 30 days after to distribute the second dose to the second batch of residents and employees.
Dr. Cohen says that supplies are still very limited, so it could be awhile before the average North Carolinian gets vaccinated—possibly as late as the spring. However, just today, Gov. Cooper has mobilized the NC National Guard to “provide support to local health providers as we continue to increase the pace of vaccinations.”
As of today, there have been 6,941 people that have died from coronavirus since March. So, who is dying? We’ve seen that older adults and older adults with underlying health conditions are at a greater risk of hospitalization—or death—if they’ve contracted COVID-19.
NC DHHS has updated their dashboard to give a better look at how COVID cases and deaths break down throughout the state in terms of ethnicity, age, gender and race. Below, you’ll see that adults over the age of 75 have the greatest death rate, which is why they are now one of the first to be vaccinated.
The dashboard also shows that—of the known data—white people have the greatest death rate, followed by African Americans. The death rate of males and females is more or less equal.
