Emergency Preparedness and Response:
March 17, 2021 |
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Severe Storm Threat on Thursday
The Storm Prediction Center has upgraded much of central and eastern NC to a Moderate Risk (level 4 out of 5) for severe storms on Thursday. A secondary front could bring additional scattered showers on Friday, especially across the northern counties.
Ready yourself, your family, and your home with these tips:
- Learn about emergency preparedness in English, Spanish, Burmese, Karen, Arabic, Chinese, and Kinyarwanda.
- Monitor local news and NOAA weather radio.
- Sign up for emergency alerts.
- Prepare an emergency kit.
- Unplug electronic equipment before a storm.
- Stay away from plumbing, corded phones, and appliances.
- Secure loose outdoor items that could become flying debris.
- If tornadoes are in the forecast, go into an interior room like a basement or closet. Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. If you are outside, do not go under a bridge - you are safer in a low, flat location.
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People With High-Risk Medical Conditions in Group 4 Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine
Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. announced that beginning on March 17, people in Group 4 who have a medical condition that puts them at higher risk of serious illness and people who live in certain congregate settings will be eligible for vaccination. The rest of Group 4, which includes other essential workers will become eligible April 7. (See Deeper Dive).
People with high-risk medical conditions, people experiencing homelessness, and incarcerated people who have not been vaccinated will be eligible March 17. North Carolina plans to move to other essential workers and other people in close group living settings on April 7.
The Orange County Health Department (OCHD) is ready for people in Group 4 to sign up to be vaccinated. To register with OCHD complete the Vaccine Interest Form (VIF) at https://redcap.link/OCHDvax or call (919) 913-8088. The phone line is operated daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Spanish and other languages available.
Group 4 registrants will be placed on a waitlist and will receive a notice as soon as an appointment becomes available.
More than 1.1 million North Carolinians have been fully vaccinated as the state works with local health departments and providers to distribute this vaccine quickly and equitably. While supply is still limited, the increased federal allocation of doses is helping providers administer vaccines to more people.
In Orange County 25,403 people, or 17.1% of the population is fully vaccinated. OCHD has administered 5,868 first doses and 3,553 second doses. The Orange County Health Department is just one of several vaccinators available. The NCDHHS maintains a complete list of vaccinators at www.myspot.nc.gov. Community members may also call (888) 892-1162 to find a vaccine location. Spanish and other languages available.
“We are very fortunate to now have three tested, safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines that keep people out of the hospital and prevent death from this virus,” said Secretary Cohen. “With improving supplies, North Carolina can get more people vaccinated sooner and meet our goals to provide equitable access to vaccinations in every community in the state.”
North Carolina has continued to emphasize equity in the vaccine distribution process. In the last four weeks, more than 20 percent of the state’s first doses have been administered to Black North Carolinians. Bloomberg News recognized North Carolina as the leader in the nation for reporting demographic data on who has been vaccinated down to the county level.
A federally supported community vaccination center opened this week in Greensboro. This site — one of just 18 sites nationally — will help the state continue its effort to reach more marginalized and underserved communities. The federal government will provide the center’s vaccine supply, which is in addition to North Carolina’s weekly allotment from the Centers for Disease Control. The site will operate seven days a week with the capacity to provide up to 3,000 vaccinations per day, with options for drive-thru service in the parking lot and walk-in service.
Detailed information about each vaccine group is online at YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov (English) or vacunate.nc.gov (Spanish). North Carolinians can find vaccine providers in their community through the NCDHHS online tool, Find a Vaccine Location. The COVID-19 vaccine help center is available to answer vaccine questions at 888-675-4567.
Related Links
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Claudia Yerena Leads a Conversation with Jesus Arnaut, Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, and Molly ChadbourneWe are very excited that the vaccine against this virus is finally ready. However, as it is still new, we are hearing many questions and concerns in the community. Is the vaccine safe? What is my group to get vaccinated? What do I do if I am pregnant? Where can I get vaccinated? Do I need to show ID or pay to get the vaccine? Here Health Department Information in Spanish. https://www.orangecountync.gov/369/Espanol
Learn more about the cafecito series here: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2582/Cafecitos
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Mire Cafecito # 4 La vacuna contra COVID-19 en español.
Enlace: https://youtu.be/5a_vvDDIHX0.
Claudia Yerena dirige una conversación con Jesus Arnaut, Dra. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, y Molly Chadbourne.
Estamos muy emocionados de que por fin está lista la vacuna contra este virus. Sin embargo, como todavía es nueva, estamos escuchando muchas preguntas y dudas en la comunidad. ¿Es segura la vacuna? ¿Cuál es mi grupo para vacunarme? ¿Qué hago si estoy embarazada? ¿Dónde me puedo vacunar? ¿Necesito mostrar identificación o pagar para recibir la vacuna? Información Local del Departamento de Salud:
https://www.orangecountync.gov/369/Espanol
Mire más episodios de “Cafecitos con el condado de Orange” aquí: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2582/Cafecitos |
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Public Health Chat March 2021This video, filmed on March 16, 2021, features a conversation with Orange County Health Director, Quintana Stewart. On March 13, 2020 Orange County, North Carolina activated the Emergency Operations Center to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This video features interviews with staff and partners as they reflect on lessons learned from this remarkable and difficult year. Learn more at: www.orangecountync.gov/Coronavirus |
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Free Daily COVID Testing
No-cost daily COVID testing is still available! Testing is an important tool to help prevent the spread of the virus throughout the community. We do not require a doctors note/referral, and we will test everyone with or without symptoms. People of all ages can be tested. We have interpreters on site and capacity to do virtual interpretation.
Weekday Testing Hillsborough
COVID-19 testing is available every weekday Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm at Whitted Human Services Center at 300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough NC 27278. Pre-registration is encouraged and may be done online. Select Orange County when registering:
https://unityphm.com/campaigns/starmed
There will be a few exceptions due to holidays, weather conditions, or other events. Please check our calendar below for testing dates.
Monday-Saturday Testing Chapel Hill
COVID-19 testing is available every weekday Monday through Saturday from 9am to 6pm at R7 Parking Lot at 725 MLK Blvd., Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Pre-registration is encouraged and may be done online:
https://lhi.care/covidtesting.
There will be a few exceptions due to holidays, weather conditions, or other events. Please check our calendar below for testing dates.
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 A health-care worker puts a bandage on a man after he received the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the Durham County Department of Public Health in Durham, N.C., on Jan. 8. Photographer: Julie Wall/The News & Observer via AP |
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Equity in Vaccination: A Plan to Work with Communities of Color Toward COVID-19 Recovery and Beyond
North Carolina has racial data for 99.6% of people who get a shot in the state
By Angelica LaVito
March 6, 2021, 8:30AM EST
Bloomberg
North Carolina is among the best-performing U.S. states when it comes to distributing vaccines evenly among Black and White residents. That’s partly because the state is by far the best at collecting demographic data.
About 11% of North Carolina’s Black population has received at least one shot, compared with 17% of the state’s White residents, the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker shows. That puts North Carolina in fourth place for the smallest spread between the two groups among states with the most comprehensive data sets. Other states might be doing as well or better than North Carolina in terms of equality, though huge numbers of incomplete records obscure the national picture. North Carolina’s success is no accident. The state made equity a priority early on, says Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. To receive shipments, every provider must use the state’s vaccine management system, which requires demographic data to finish registering someone for a shot. That has helped the state track its progress and target certain populations more effectively, Cohen says.
“The data is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have in order to embed equity into every aspect of our response and now into vaccine operations,” says Cohen. Equitable distribution is particularly crucial as communities of color in the U.S. have borne a disproportionate share of the suffering during the crisis. Nationally, Black and Hispanic people are becoming infected one time the rate of White people and are dying at about two times the rate, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Biden administration has repeatedly stressed the importance of distributing Covid-19 vaccines equitably, and it’s largely up to the states to figure out exactly how they want to do that. North Carolina started sending more shots to areas with higher concentrations of historically underserved populations in late January. It also reserves 15% of its doses for special events like community clinics, which have typically worked well in targeting those populations, and it carefully tracks its data, reserving the right to cut off supply to providers that aren’t meeting the goals.
Those data show clearly how well — and how poorly — the state is reaching certain groups. Of 1.5 million first doses administered, 77% have gone to White people. The group accounts for 71% of the total population. Black people have received 16% of the shots even though they represent 22% of the population, and one-quarter of the state’s Covid-19 deaths broken down by race. Just 3% of the shots have been administered to Hispanic people, who make up 10% of the state’s population and more than 20% of its coronavirus cases by ethnicity.
North Carolina’s struggle to reach Hispanic people illustrates the complexity of distributing shots equitably. When asked why the metrics for that group are falling short, the state cited “longstanding and continuing racial and ethnic injustices” for the gap. It's pushing to mend that, but it has a long way to go: About 4% of first doses administered the week ending Feb. 21 were given to Hispanic people, up from about 2% the week ending Jan. 17. Age also may be a factor in the gap — generally, Hispanic people are a younger demographic than White or other racial and ethnic groups, which means that many wouldn’t have been eligible during early rounds of vaccination that targeted the oldest people. |
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 Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Photographer: Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
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Each week, North Carolina divides the doses it receives from the federal government across its 100 counties. The initial calculation is based on total population. Communities with higher numbers of historically marginalized populations receive more shots, Cohen says.
State health officials expect providers to inoculate people at rates reflective of the broader population, Cohen says. For example, if 35% of the residents in a county are Black, 35% of the shots a hospital or health department administers should be given to Black people. Those that don’t comply risk losing their supply. State leaders review and readjust the allocations every three weeks.
Julie Swann, a health-systems expert at North Carolina State University, has admired how her state has shrunk the gap between White and Black vaccination rates in recent weeks. Black people received 21% of first doses administered in the week ending Feb. 21, up from 14% the week of Jan. 25, according to the state. North Carolina’s transparency around the data has helped the state hold itself accountable, she says.
“You need data to know if a population is getting their fair share of vaccines,” Swann says. “If you don't know a population is missing out, you don't know you need to take action and deliver, distribute and administer vaccines in a different way.”
North Carolina has racial data for 99.6% of people who have gotten a shot in the state. New York, the closest competitor, shares that information for 96.6% of recipients. Michigan, currently in last place, only displays racial data for 58.6% of people. It doesn’t disclose any ethnicity information.
Clinics can override the system if a person doesn’t want to disclose their racial or ethnic background, Cohen says, an issue other states say challenges their efforts. Ingraining the data collection into the registration process has pushed providers to ask patients for this information. “We'll never be perfect,” Cohen says. “But you can't not ask the question.”
— With assistance by Andre Tartar |
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NC Medicaid Managed Care Open Enrollment North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has begun mailing enrollment packets statewide and launched new resources for beneficiaries as it prepares for NC Medicaid Managed Care Open Enrollment which begins on March 15, 2021. Medicaid beneficiaries can now call the NC Medicaid Enrollment Call Center to learn more about NC Medicaid Managed Care and can download a free beneficiary enrollment mobile app. These new tools, as well as the NC Medicaid enrollment website, will assist beneficiaries in choosing a primary care provider (PCP) and a health plan for their families’ care. Some people will not need to choose a health plan because of the type of health services they need.
The NC Medicaid Enrollment Call Center number is 833-870-5500/TTY: 833-870-5588. The free mobile app, called NC Medicaid Managed Care is available on Google Play or the App Store. Mailing of enrollment packets is being done in batches and should arrive at beneficiary homes by Monday, March 15, 2021.
Open enrollment officially begins March 15, but beneficiaries can proceed now with online enrollment, or call the NC Medicaid Enrollment Call Center for assistance. |
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 889,310 COVID-19 cases, 11,757 deaths, and 1,002 hospitalizations.
20.0% of North Carolina's population are at least partially vaccinated, and 12.9% are fully vaccinated.
There are currently 7,867 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 98 deaths in Orange County. 26.4%% of Orange County residents are at least partially vaccinated, and 19.6% 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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