Orange County Health News
July 14, 2021 |
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 Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed July Adolescent Immunization Awareness Month |
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Health Officials Encourage Parents to Get Preteens and Teens Up to Date on Immunizations Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed July Adolescent Immunization Awareness Month to highlight the importance of immunizations for North Carolina’s preteens and teens. As teachers, parents and students are preparing for the start of the 2021-22 school year, public health officials remind parents and guardians to ensure their teens and preteens are current on all their vaccinations and encourage health care providers to take steps to ensure their young patients are up to date. Over the past year, well child health care visits have decreased in some cases due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Data shows many North Carolina youth are behind on immunizations for vaccine-preventable diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria, meningococcal meningitis, measles and HPV. As of June 29, only 25% of youth ages 12-17 have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is collaborating with partners, including the North Carolina Pediatric Society, North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians and local health departments on an awareness campaign to help ensure adolescents are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases — including COVID-19.
“As children move into their preteen and teen years, they become more susceptible to certain diseases, making it especially important to stay current with immunizations. At the same time, preteens and teens tend to have fewer visits to their doctor’s office, increasing the chance that they are not up to date,” said Dr. Jessica L. Triche, FAAFP, president of the NC Academy of Family Physicians. “This decrease in immunizations accelerated among adolescents during the pandemic, when stay-at-home orders went into effect.”
For preteens ages 11-12, the following four vaccines are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:- Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) to protect against some of the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease, including meningitis.
- Tdap vaccine to protect against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).
- Human papillomavirus vaccine to help protect from HPV infection and cancers caused by HPV.
- Influenza vaccine to protect against the flu at the onset of the flu season
An important change was implemented for the 2020-21 school year. A booster dose of MCV4 is now required at age 16 and before entering the 12th grade. Depending on risk factors, some teens may also need serogroup B meningococcal vaccine. Parents with teenagers should talk to their pediatrician or family physician about which vaccines are appropriate.
In addition to routine vaccines, everyone 12 years and older is now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. “This vaccine is very safe and effective and can be given at the same time as vaccines required for school,” said State Health Director and NCDHHS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, MPH. “We encourage all parents to talk with their preteen’s or teen’s doctor about this important vaccine and its benefits.” “Adolescent Immunization Awareness Month is an important reminder for families to make sure their children are up to date on vaccines,” said Dr. Christoph Diasio, FAAP, president of the NC Pediatric Society. “Even if parents were delayed in getting their children in due to COVID-19, now is the time to schedule well child and vaccination appointments, especially for year-round schools and sports.”We encourage all parents to talk with their child’s pediatrician, family practitioner or health care professional to know what vaccinations are due and make sure their kids are protected. During that same visit, parents can talk with their physician about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine for their children, ages 12 years and older. Many pediatricians and family practitioners will provide the COVID-19 vaccine for all eligible family members, as well as their adolescent patient(s), during that same visit.
More information, including a list of all required North Carolina school immunizations from kindergarten through 12th grade is available at www.immunize.nc.gov/family. Additional information on vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases is available on the CDC's website. The COVID-19 North Carolina Dashboard provides an overview of additional COVID-19-related information and metrics the state is monitoring.
The Vaccines for Children program offers free vaccines to families who cannot afford to pay for their children’s vaccines (through 19 years of age), and federal law requires most private insurance plans, including Medicaid, to cover recommended preventive services such as vaccinations at no out-of-pocket cost. The COVID-19 vaccine is available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status.
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Should I Ask My Friends If They Are Vaccinated?
COVID-19 vaccine etiquette and considerations for all the people in your life.Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
By Keri Althoff and Elizabeth Stuart | June 21, 2021If you’re fully vaccinated, almost all interactions are quite low risk for you. But you might still want to know about others’ vaccination status to help think through how to make activities as low risk as possible for everyone. This is particularly true if you interact regularly with high-risk individuals or people who haven’t been vaccinated yet, such as children under 12 years old. You can get practice and gain comfort in asking friends about their vaccination status before interacting closely with them. Below are a few specific examples of navigating some tricky scenarios.
If you learn that someone isn’t vaccinated, when appropriate—with close friends and family, for example—consider asking them why not and see if you can help address their concerns. (See How Can I Talk to My Friends and Family About Vaccines)
Let us know what questions you’re hearing: publichealthquestion@jhu.edu
SCENARIO: I am fully vaccinated. How can I ask my friends if they are also vaccinated before we hang out? Should it change our plans if someone is not?
Absolutely! If you are hanging out with fully vaccinated friends, you can enjoy each other’s company without masks and social distancing.
If there are unvaccinated friends in the mix, you may wish to enjoy your gathering outside or in spaces where masking and social distancing is more comfortable. Asking your friends about their vaccination status is as simple as “I have been vaccinated for COVID-19. Have you?” If they don’t wish to answer, you should engage with the person as if they are unvaccinated.
SCENARIO: My dentist told me that she’s not going to get vaccinated. Should I find another provider?
It is perfectly appropriate to seek out service providers who you know are vaccinated.
SCENARIO: My friend told me that asking someone about their vaccination status is a HIPAA violation. Is that true?
It is not a violation of HIPAA to ask someone about their vaccination status. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) restricts doctors and insurance companies from disclosing information about their patients.
SCENARIO: My fiance and I are finally rescheduling our postponed wedding for later this summer. Is it ok to ask that guests who plan to attend get vaccinated beforehand so everyone can be safe? Should we require proof of some kind?
Encouraging guests to be vaccinated to attend your wedding is appropriate. You may even wish to gather information on an individual’s vaccination status on the RSVP card.
But people may be dishonest about their vaccination status, proof may be difficult for vaccinated people to provide, and there may be people who are vaccinated but still practice masking and social distancing as extra layers of protection for themselves (particularly if they are immune compromised) or others in their household. You might want to also consider how or whether knowing that information would or would not change your plans.
Unless you have a small gathering and you are confident everyone is vaccinated, remind your guests of the CDC guidance for unvaccinated people and provide masks and space for guests to socially distance themselves.
SCENARIO: I’m newly back into the dating scene and eager to meet people. How can I ask them about their vaccination status before we hang out?
Communication is key to relationships. Asking about vaccination status can help build communication and is important for understanding how to follow CDC guidelines.
Read more about Dating in the Time of COVID-19
SCENARIO: My 12- and 14-year-old kids are newly fully vaccinated and want to hang out with their friends, but there are some kids under 12 who haven’t been vaccinated and others whose status we don’t know. How can we keep everyone safe?
A general rule is that if you’re going to be gathering with people from multiple households who aren’t vaccinated—or if you don’t know everyone’s vaccination status—look for lower-risk activities:- Stay outdoors
- Keep masks on while indoors
- Keep the group small
When considering gatherings, keep in mind local COVID-19 spread and protection in your community. The number of cases per 100,000 population and the proportion of people vaccinated can help guide your decision-making. If COVID-19 rates are high and the gathering is large and among people whose vaccination status is largely unknown, or if there are going to be lots of children, consider more safety measures or even postponing the event for a later time.
This guidance could also apply to families who each have children older than 12 and children younger than 12 under the same roof who want to socialize with other families.
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Free Walk-In Vaccine ClinicsIn addition to our regularly scheduled walk-in clinics (see above), the Orange County Health Department is pleased to offer pop-up vaccine clinics 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!
Eno River Quarry Lot
4712 Howe St., Durham, NC
Thursday, July 15th from 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Flyer: English/Español
Last Fridays in Hillsborough
104 E. King St., Hillsborough, NC (the old courthouse in Hillsborough)
Friday, July 30th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Flyer: English/Español |
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Despite New COVID Variants, CDC Says You Don't Need Any Booster Doses Right NowPublished July 8, 2021 at 11:57 PM ET The CDC and the FDA say that fully vaccinated Americans do not currently need a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine. As new coronavirus variants test the protections of the available vaccines, federal health officials say there's no need for booster doses right now.
The agencies added that people who are fully vaccinated are protected from severe illness and death, including from emerging variants such as the highly contagious delta variant that's now the dominant strain in the U.S. and in other countries.The news comes shortly after Pfizer and BioNTech announced plans to seek FDA authorization for a booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer and BioNTech say initial trial results from an ongoing booster trial show that a third shot given six months after the initial two shots can bring antibody levels to a point that should increase protection against disease caused by either the original strain of the coronavirus or the beta variant (the variant first detected in South Africa).
Pfizer and BioNTech say they are also developing a new version of their vaccine designed specifically to target the delta variant, which they hope to start testing in volunteers this summer.
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 UNC Chapel Hill staff member and representative of the Carolina Black Caucus Jaci Field gives opening remarks at a press conference led by Black student groups July 7, 2021
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Black Students And Employees Deliver Demands For UNC Chapel HillPublished July 7, 2021 at 4:26 PM EDT
A coalition of groups representing Black students and faculty met at UNC Chapel Hill Wednesday to describe their vision for a safer campus in the wake of the fight over tenure for journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones.
"We're here today, not in celebration of Nikole Hannah-Jones being awarded tenure, but instead standing here to acknowledge that tenure was the bare minimum," said Julia Clark, vice president of the UNC Black Student Movement.
Hannah-Jones announced Tuesday she was rejecting a job offer from the UNC Chapel Hill and instead going to Howard University, a historically Black institution. The UNC Black Student Movement, the Carolina Black Caucus and the Black Graduate and Professional Student Association held a press conference to describe their joint demands.
The Black Student Movement previously released its own list of demands of the university that range from removing the police presence during campus move-in day to improving sexual assault prevention training. Members of the UNC Black community are now presenting a concentrated list of 2021 priorities, that includes: - text message alerts to warn when white supremacist activists are on campus
- termination of campus police captain Rahsheem Holland, who was elevated to acting chief this spring
- hiring more Black counselors and increasing Black staff for the Title IX office and the Carolina Women's Center
- a metric-driven recruitment strategy for Black faculty
- equity scorecards publicly available for each university department
- a permanent memorial for James Cates, Jr., a young Black man who was stabbed to death on campus by a white motorcycle gang in 1970
- restoration and signage for the Unsung Founders Memorial honoring Black people who helped build the campus
- and that grade appeal information is included on syllabi.
"These are actionable items," UNC Black Student Movement president Taliajah Vann said of these demands. "We are holding the university's feet to the fire."
Vann said the group's goal is for the university to implement these changes within the coming academic year.
"Our demands of this university are designed to protect the Black community at UNC as well as to end the systemic oppression and exploitation of our community," said Julia Clark, Vice President of the UNC Black Student Movement.
Students Call for Firing Acting Campus Chief of Police
The UNC Black Student Movement is now calling for the university to terminate Rahsheem Holland and select a new acting chief of campus police. Julia Clark, vice president of the group, says Holland hit her in the face while he forcefully removed her and other students from a closed meeting last week where the university's Board of Trustees voted on tenure for Hannah-Jones. Video footage posted on Twitter by the UNC Hussman Alumni account shows Holland and other campus police officers pushing Clark and others from the board room.University officials announced Tuesday that Holland has officially assumed the role of acting chief of police after former Chief David Perry submitted his resignation. Perry has been on leave since mid-May and Holland has been serving as the acting chief since then, the university said in a press release this week.
Following that public announcement, the UNC Black Student Movement made a statement on social media to call for his termination. "We firmly resist this decision in the face of the trauma Rahsheem Holland and other officers caused so many Black students," the statement said.Students say they plan to meet with two UNC trustees this week to discuss how the board can support their efforts to create a more equitable space for Black students. "We're trying to create a Carolina community that is safe for everyone," said Vann.
"Safety is the bare minimum," Clark said, "I shouldn't have to be strong. I shouldn't have to be an advocate. I should be able to be a student." |
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Things you can do to prevent the unthinkable
Keep in mind: Any parent or caregiver, even a very loving and attentive one, can forget a child is in the back seat. Being especially busy or distracted or having a change from the usual routine increases the risk.
Here are some safety reminders from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
- Always check the back seat and make sure all children are out of the car before locking it and walking away.
- Avoid distractions while driving, especially cell phone use.
- Be extra alert when there is a change in your routine, like when someone else is driving your child or you take a different route to work or child care.
- Have your child care provider call if your child is more than 10 minutes late.
- Put your cell phone, bag, or purse in the back seat, so you check the back seat when you arrive at your destination.
- If someone else is driving your child, always check to make sure he has arrived safely.
- Keep your car locked when it is parked to prevent a curious child from entering when no one is around. Many hot car deaths have occurred when a child mistakenly locks himself inside.
- Make sure children do not have easy access to your car keys. Store them out of a child's reach.
- Teach children that cars are not safe places to play.
- Keep rear fold-down seats closed to prevent a child from crawling into the trunk from inside the car.
- Remind children that cars, especially car trunks, should not be used for games like hide-and-seek.
Important Tip: If a child is missing, always check the pool first, and then the car, including the trunk! |
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 1,020,833 COVID-19 cases, 13,512 deaths, and 487 hospitalizations.
45% of North Carolina's population is at least partially vaccinated, and 42% is fully vaccinated.
There are currently 8,644 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 101 deaths in Orange County. 65% of Orange County residents are at least partially vaccinated, and 63% 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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