Orange County Health News
June 9, 2021 |
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Walk-In and Pop-Up COVID-19 ClinicsNEW HOURS! Getting a free COVID-19 vaccine is simple and convenient! We have walk-in clinics every week: - Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please arrive by 4:30 for the last appointment.
LOCATION: Whitted Human Services Center at 300 West Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC 27278
Free and no ID or insurance required.
If you would like to schedule an appointment at a time and date that is convenient for you, call 919-913-8088 on weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, or visit https://www.myspot.nc.gov/ Search for zip code 27278.
Pop-up vaccine clinics are open to all community members ages 12 and older.
We encourage you to register by calling 919-913-8088 or by visiting https://www.myspot.nc.gov
Walk-ins are also welcome!
UPCOMING POP-UP VACCINE CLINICS |
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New NC State study finds socially vulnerable communities bear brunt of pipelines
By Greg Barnes
North Carolina Health News
June 2, 2021
The study used data to show that socially vulnerable communities have significantly higher natural gas pipeline densities and are therefore exposed to more pollution and health and safety issues.For years, individual case studies have found that natural gas pipelines traverse primarily through socially vulnerable communities, resulting in cries of environmental injustice and lawsuits against big gas companies.
Now, researchers at N.C. State University have taken those studies a step further with a deep data dive to show that the nation’s counties with the most socially vulnerable populations have significantly higher pipeline densities.
The findings suggest that people living in those counties are at greater risk of facing water and air pollution, public health and safety issues, and other negative impacts associated with the natural gas pipelines, said Laura Oleniacz, a spokeswoman for N.C. State.“This is what the communities themselves have been saying for a long time,” said Ryan Emanuel, the study’s lead researcher and a professor in N.C. State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics. “For the first time, we gathered all of this together and zoomed out and took a national look and said, ‘You know what, these pipelines don’t exist in a vacuum.’”The study has been peer reviewed and is being published in GeoHealth, a journal that focuses on the intersection of environmental and Earth sciences, and health. The authors drew their conclusions using data on socially vulnerable communities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and natural gas pipeline data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Emanuel said. The researchers used the CDC’s data to examine socially vulnerable communities on a county-by-county basis.
The CDC defines social vulnerability as “the potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses on human health. Such stresses include natural or human-caused disasters, or disease outbreaks.”
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline
In 2014, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy announced that they would construct the Atlantic Coast Pipeline from the shale fields of West Virginia through Virginia and ending in Robeson County in North Carolina. At the time, the proposed 600-mile-long pipeline was projected to cost between $4.5 billion and $5 billion.
The two energy companies said demand for the project was driven in large part by retirement and conversion of coal-fired power plants to natural gas plants. But as the companies bought easements for the pipeline — either with cooperation from landowners or the seizing of property through eminent domain — federal regulators began to question the need for the pipeline because the Mountain Valley Pipeline was beginning to take shape nearby.
Emanuel said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission weighed the need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline heavily but gave little consideration to the environmental justice issue.
“So we know that regulators take these kinds of, I guess, gas supply issues into account for the rest of the network when they’re making these decisions but right now they don’t do that when it comes to environmental justice,” Emanuel said. “Pipelines are more or less considered in a vacuum when it comes to reviewing their environmental justice implications.” |
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Orange County Featured in National NBC News Story: "Here's what the counties leading the country in vaccinations all have in common"
Similar efforts for the homebound boosted vaccinations in Orange County, North Carolina, another small metro that fully vaccinated 51 percent of its population. Coordination with social services agencies helped flag homebound individuals needing vaccinations.
The county, which includes Chapel Hill and is located west of Raleigh, has recorded more than 8,500 Covid-19 cases and upwards of 100 deaths in the pandemic. And like rural communities, health officials there have relied on community relationships to bolster vaccinations.
“Collaboration has really been key for us,” said Beverly Scurry, strategic plan manager for the Orange County Health Department. She said that community collaboration has allowed them to target vulnerable populations.They’ve also had to battle general mistrust of health care systems.
“We've seen things like fertility and DNA and microchips and all of the things that you kind of hear about in regards to the vaccine,” Scurry said.
She said it’s been important for the county health department to not pressure people into getting vaccinated. “We want our community to make an informed choice about getting the vaccine.”
While the county is majority white, Scurry said, they’ve seen success in vaccinating Black communities through relationships with churches, the Meals on Wheels program and the NAACP.
Read More |
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New Cafecito Video in English and Spanish: Domestic Violence and Sexual AbuseThis video talks about domestic violence and sexual abuse, a topic that is not often discussed because of the delicate and uncomfortable fear, guilt and shame that survivors often feel. Today, survivors have armed themselves with courage and raise their voices against sexual violence, telling their testimonies, sharing their healing process and the legal and emotional support they received.
Antonia Cortes Sanchez from Orange County Health Department's Family Success Alliance moderates a conversation with Soleir Gordon-Schaefer from the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, and Madison Burke and Xochitl Mendez, both from the Compass Center for Women and Families.
Resources in this Video
Orange County Rape Crisis Center- Free and Confidential Services
- Crisis Phone Line 24 hours a day / 7 days a week: (919) 967-7273
- Speak to Staff via Text Message: (919) 504-5211
- www.ocrcc.org
Compass Center for Women and Families- Crisis Phone Line 24 hours a day / 7 days a week: (919) 968-4610
- Self-Sufficiency and Other Services: (919) 968-4610
- www.compassctr.org
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Episodio #6: Violencia Doméstica y Abuso Sexual
Este video habla acerca del abuso sexual, un tema del cual no se hablaba mucho antes, por lo delicado e incómodo el miedo la culpa y la vergüenza que resulta para las personas que han sufrido de este crimen. De cierta forma es bueno ver que ahora las sobrevivientes se han armado de valor y levantan su voz en contra de la violencia sexual, contando sus testimonios, su proceso de sanación y el apoyo legal y emocional que recibieron.
Antonia Cortes Sanchez de La Alianza de Éxito Familiar guía un a conversación entre Soleir Gordon-Schaefer de el Orange County Rape Crisis Center, y Madison Burke y Xochitl Mendez, ambos del Compass Center for Women and Families.
Recursos en Este Video
Orange County Rape Crisis Center
- Servicios gratuitos y confidencial.
- Línea de Crisis las 24 del día: (919) 967-7273
- Línea donde pueden enviar mensajes de texto: (919) 504-5211
- www.ocrcc.org
Compass Center for Women and Families- Línea de Crisis las 24 del día: (919) 968-4610
- Servicios de autosuficiencia (Educación financiera, Exploración y preparación profesional, referencias legales): (919) 968-4610
- www.compassctr.org
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 1,006,809 COVID-19 cases, 13,230 deaths, and 554 hospitalizations.
44% of North Carolina's population is at least partially vaccinated, and 40% is fully vaccinated.
There are currently 8,579 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 101 deaths in Orange County. 63% of Orange County residents are at least partially vaccinated, and 59% are fully vaccinated.
For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every day around noon), please visit the NCDHHS website.
Orange County Health Department also has a COVID-19 dashboard webpage, with information on COVID-19 data in the county.
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