ROCKINGHAM — Thirteen Richmond County residents have received the COVID-19 vaccine as it begins to roll out, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
DHHS announced Tuesday that it will now include vaccination information on the state’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
According to DHHS, 24,500 North Carolinians have received the first of the two-dose vaccine during Phase 1a, which includes health care workers fighting COVID-19 and long-term care staff and residents.
While long-term care facility residents are included in the first phase, it is unclear if any have been administered the vaccine.
State statistics show 62% of those receiving the vaccine are between the ages of 24 and 49, 30% are 50-64, 4% are 65-74, and 3% are 18-24; and 63% are female.
The dashboard also lists racial and ethnical statistics.
Wake County has had the highest number of vaccinations
DHHS says residential information is missing for 296 people.
Late last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for a vaccine developed by Moderna. A vaccine developed by Pfizer was the first to receive EUA on Dec. 11.
“To have two vaccines against a novel virus authorized and distributed within a year is extraordinary, and to have one of these vaccines developed by scientists at the (National Institutes of Health) should be a great source of pride for every member of the HHS family and every American,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a Dec. 18 statement.
On Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order allowing bars and restaurants to serve mixed drinks for take-out or delivery. Orders must be sealed and labeled.
Read the entire executive order attached at the bottom of this post.
Multiple media outlets have reported that Congress recently reached a deal on a nearly 5,600-page, $2.3 trillion spending bill which includes $900 billion in COVID relief, providing $600 to those within a certain income bracket.
The bill has drawn criticism for including other items — including, as pointed out by Reason Magazine, the creation of two museums and taking a position on the Dali Lama’s wishes — and for its sheer size.
As of this writing, the bill has been pushed through both houses of Congress and sent to President Donald Trump.
COVID CASE NUMBERS
The Richmond County Health Department on Tuesday reported 20 new coronavirus cases, bringing the number of active cases to 280 and the monthly total to 622.
Of the current cases, 266 are under home isolation and 14 are hospitalized.
After dropping to its lowest point since Dec. 7 on Monday, daily statewide numbers increased to 5,255. There have been 16 days this month with daily cases exceeding 5,000. All but one day, Dec. 1, has had more than 4,000 cases.
Statewide COVID-related hospitalizations spiked to 3,001 on Monday. (Hospital numbers are a day behind.) That number has been on the rise since early November, with increases nearly every day.
FirstHealth reports that 87 of its 356 patients (24.4%) are COVID-positive.
According to DHHS, there have been 6,465,155 completed tests for the coronavirus in the state, 488,902 of which have been positive. Forty-seven of the state’s 6,291 COVID-related deaths have been in Richmond County.
FirstHealth has completed 68,674 tests with 59,591 negative results, 7,972 positive results, and 347 results still pending.
Some individuals have been tested multiple times.
The county has also recorded 21,294 negative test results since March, with 2,111 of the 2,472 who tested positive presumed to be recovered.
The Health Department is offering free COVID testing in the lot behind the building until Dec. 31. Testing will run from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday — except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of local cases per age group are as follows (includes recoveries):
- 0-18 – 369 (+7)
- 19-30 – 401 (+2)
- 31-40 – 340 (+1)
- 41-50 – 433 (+3)
- 51-64 – 505 (+4)
- 65-older – 424 (+3)
The total number of cases per ZIP code are as follows:
- Rockingham – 1,343 (156 active)
- Hamlet – 715 (84 active)
- Ellerbe – 208 (22 active)
- Hoffman – 169 (13 active)
- Mount Gilead – 13 (1 active)
- Marston – 23 (4 active)
- Jackson Springs – 1 (0 active)
The total numbers (including recoveries) for surrounding counties are as follows:
- Mecklenburg – 57,131 (other counties to top 10,000 are Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, Durham, Cumberland and Gaston, Pitt, Catawba, and Union*)
- Union* – 10,994
- Stanly – 3,896
- Montgomery – 1,777
- Anson – 1,298
- Moore – 4,364 (722 active, 77 deaths)
- Hoke – 2,544
- Scotland – 2,387
- Robeson – 8,951 (more than higher-populated counties New Hanover and Buncombe)
All numbers are from DHHS except Moore, which are from the local health department, as there has been a discrepancy with the state.
Tyrrell County, the smallest by population, remains the only one of the state’s 100 counties to have fewer than 200 cases with 162.
