NC Department of Health and Human Services

This 2006 photograph showed a nurse in the process of administering an intramuscular vaccination to an adolescent girl whose sister, mother, and grandmother watched from the background.

Pandemic causes immunization rates to dip

May 27, 2020 by Melba Newsome Leave a Comment

Pandemic causes immunization rates to dip - North Carolina Health News

Fear of being exposed to the coronavirus is contributing to parents skipping child well visits and their vaccinations.

By Melba Newsome When Kim Wilson got pregnant three years ago, she joined an online community group for expectant and new moms. Members shared advice and offered support with few disagreements, except when the discussion turned to immunizations. Wilson recalls some moms being dead set against vaccinating their children, having bought into the debunked reports […]

shows a woman standing at a podium, gesturing with her hands, talking about COVID

Coronavirus Today – May 21 – Rare COVID-related child illness; Tyson plant and Forsyth case jump; pause on NC jury trials

May 21, 2020 by Editor Leave a Comment

Coronavirus Today – May 21 – Rare COVID-related child illness; Tyson plant and Forsyth case jump; pause on NC jury trials - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina is moving cautiously into a new reopening phase as COVID-19 cases increase. Forsyth County has seen a rapid increase in cases.

By North Carolina Health News staff NC reports first case of rare COVID-related illness in children North Carolina reported its first case of a rare multisystem inflammatory disease afflicting children who either have COVID-19 infection or appeared to have recently recovered from an infection. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human […]

shows a computer screen in the foreground with statistics about COVID on the screen, a woman stands at a podium in t he distance.

Coronavirus Today – May 20 – Indoor restaurant dining; barbershops salons to open, but no gyms yet; Cooper unlikely to pick pizza

May 20, 2020 by Editor 2 Comments

Coronavirus Today – May 20 – Indoor restaurant dining; barbershops salons to open, but no gyms yet; Cooper unlikely to pick pizza - North Carolina Health News

As the number of COVID-19 lab confirmed cases continue to rise, Gov. Roy Cooper modifies his phased reopening plan.

By North Carolina Health News staff Restaurants, salons, barbershops may open soon North Carolinians will be able to get haircuts at a barbershop or salon after Friday and spend time inside restaurants and at swimming pools that have been closed for nearly two months due to COVID-19. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that he will […]

A skilled nursing facility sign is in the foreground and a building is in the background. The facility, A PruittHealth skilled-nursing facility in Orange County, is dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19, and has a history of poor staffing.

NC DHHS recommends testing all in long-term facilities for COVID-19, but questions remain

May 19, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith Leave a Comment

NC DHHS recommends testing all in long-term facilities for COVID-19, but questions remain - North Carolina Health News

NC health officials say all residents of long-term care centers, in dozens of which COVID-19 has run rampant, should be tested for the virus, but left several details vague.

By Thomas Goldsmith Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services, announced Friday that North Carolina is heading in the direction of universal testing of North Carolina nursing home residents and staff. That means that state health officials have issued guidance, or at least a recommendation, to follow the direction […]

man in fatigues and a face mask stands in front of a sign reading: "patient intake" in a COVID-19 overflow centr

Shuttered hospital could get new life courtesy of COVID

May 18, 2020 by Rose Hoban Leave a Comment

Shuttered hospital could get new life courtesy of COVID - North Carolina Health News

Rural Sandhills facility repurposed for non-coronavirus patients in the event of a surge.

By Rose Hoban The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on hospitals. Most hospitals lost millions in revenue when they stopped performing elective surgeries in mid-March, then spent millions gathering supplies and training staff to be ready for a potential surge in cases. But the pandemic may have the opposite effect on one shuttered rural […]

shows health care workers in full protective gear testing someone sitting in their car for COVID

Asymptomatic first COVID-19 case in Graham County ‘heartbroken’ by test

May 16, 2020 by Carolina Public Press 1 Comment

Asymptomatic first COVID-19 case in Graham County ‘heartbroken’ by test - North Carolina Health News

The Eastern Band of the Cherokee tribe has been urging that one person from every household on its land get tested.

By Joseph Martin Carolina Public Press A Graham County resident and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians received bad news from the results of her COVID-19 test, and she is left baffled as to how she could have contracted the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Jade Teesateskie is the first positive case […]

woman sitting at a microphone with an American flag behind her points at the camera as she makes a point about COVID-19

Coronavirus Today – May 13 – Contact tracers in world of spam; antibody tests; virtual tour of Hawaii

May 13, 2020 by Editor Leave a Comment

Coronavirus Today – May 13 – Contact tracers in world of spam; antibody tests; virtual tour of Hawaii - North Carolina Health News

As North Carolina increases testing and tracing, contact tracers must overcome hurdles amid spam-call blocking.

By North Carolina Health News staff That number you don’t recognize might be a contact tracer The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a spotlight on many public health jobs for which few across the country ever gave much thought. Epidemiologists and virologists, once known mostly to their colleagues in the science world, have become household names. […]

shows three politicians who are usually at odds on the same dias, they're there in order to sign bills to provide COVID relief

Coronavirus Today – May 12 – Pandemic politics; NC manufacturers help; mental health awareness

May 12, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – May 12 – Pandemic politics; NC manufacturers help; mental health awareness - North Carolina Health News

Political divides are emerging again during the pandemic slightly more than a week after Republicans and Democrats reached consensus on a relief package.

By North Carolina Health News staff ‘Pandemics cannot be partisan’ Eight days have passed since Republican leaders at the helm of the General Assembly stood side-by-side with Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, to show that the two parties could come together in consensus to support a $1.5 billion pandemic relief package. The harmony was short-lived. […]

shows a woman in a red dress standing behind a podium as she talks about efforts to combat the COVID pandemic

Coronavirus Today – May 11 – Recovered from COVID; churches and outside worship; more SNAP

May 11, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – May 11 – Recovered from COVID; churches and outside worship; more SNAP - North Carolina Health News

Questions arise about who is recovered from COVID-19, who should get tested and the nuances of governor’s modified order for worship houses.

By North Carolina Health News staff Many recover from COVID-19, but defining who has is difficult Nearly 60 percent of the 15,045 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in North Carolina presumably have recovered from the virus, according to state health officials. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, […]

shows a woman putting on her personal protective equipment as she prepares to test someone for COVID

Tryon Medical Partners deploys teams around the country to keep businesses open

May 10, 2020 by Tony Mecia

Tryon Medical Partners deploys teams around the country to keep businesses open - North Carolina Health News

A physician from the practice keeps an IKEA ‘go bag’ with N95 masks always at the ready, and she's ready to hit the road at a moment's notice.

By Tony Mecia Charlotte Ledger Dr. Jennifer Womack has a “go bag” at her house. It’s an IKEA duffel bag stuffed with medical gowns, N95 masks, nasal swabs and other testing equipment. Womack, an internist who moved to Charlotte in 2014, is the leader of Team 1, a group of four healthcare workers with Tryon Medical […]

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