COVID-19 update: North Carolina moving to start vaccines for Group 4

Published 9:42 pm Friday, March 12, 2021

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North Carolina is moving toward COVID-19 vaccinations for Group 4 on March 17, beginning with people with high-risk medical conditions, people experiencing homelessness or living in a homeless shelter, and those in a jail or prison who have not been vaccinated. North Carolina plans to move to other essential workers and other people in close group living settings on April 7.

Dare is accepting requests for appointments for Group 4 and Hyde County is open for anyone wanting a coronavirus vaccination. Albemarle Regional Health Services is now compiling its waiting list for all those who wish vaccination.

These are the high risk conditions, identified by the CDC, as increasing risk for severe COVID-19 illness: asthma (moderate to severe), cancer, cerebrovascular disease or history of stroke, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, diabetes type 1 or 2, a heart condition such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, hypertension or high blood pressure, intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Down syndrome, liver disease, including hepatitis, neurologic conditions, such as dementia and schizophrenia, pulmonary fibrosis, overweight or obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease (not including sickle cell trait) or thalassemia, smoking (current or former, defined as having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime); and immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from: immune deficiencies, HIV, taking chronic steroids or other immune weakening medicines, history of solid organ blood or bone marrow transplant.

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Dare County – Dare County is now accepting registration requests for individuals in Groups 1 through 4. This includes health care workers and long-term care staff and residents, adults 65 and older, frontline essential workers and adults at higher risk for exposure and increased risk of severe illness. Go online to darenc.com, click COVID-19 and then vaccine information or call 252-475-5008.

As of March 11, 2021, Dare County’s death count remains at 14 persons.

The total number of cumulative COVID-19 cases in Dare County is 2,825 on March 11. Active positive resident cases number 20 according to the county’s dashboard, with 20 in home isolation. No one from Dare County is currently hospitalized with the coronavirus.

As of March 11, Peak Resources in Nags Head remains on the outbreak list as does the Dare County Detention Center

Hyde County – Hyde County Health Department asks that any citizen who is interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine call the COVID-19 line as soon as possible to pre-register and get on the list to receive a vaccine. Pre-registrations are now accepted from all citizens regardless of which group for COVID-19 vaccination. Call 252-926-4467 to pre-register to receive a vaccine appointment at the Hyde County Health Department.

The Hyde County COVID-19 dashboard is reporting March 5 figures. On that date, Hyde County Health Department reported 641 total cumulative cases with two active positive cases. Deaths remain at eight persons. Hyde County updates its case numbers each Friday.

Some 1,587 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and 965 second doses, according to the state’s vaccine page on March 12.

Tyrrell County – Martin-Tyrrell-Washington Health District writes that Tyrrell County, on March 11, has no new cases in the county. Six individuals have died in the county due to coronavirus. Tyrrell House, a residential care facility, remains on the congregant living outbreak list.

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