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Public health urges vaccination as COVID-19 parameters improve, expands booster clinic
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC – New Hanover County public health officials continue to urge residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as county-wide measures show signs of improvement after peaks in August and September.
“Our community’s collective action by wearing masks is starting to bear fruit, but we still have work to do to keep our community safe this fall and the holiday season,” said the director of public health David Howard. “The county’s positivity percentage has dropped to 6.1%, from just a month ago we were close to 14%. While this is great news, the reality is that new cases of COVID-19 in our community remain high. We have had over 400 new cases and 10 deaths reported in the past week from COVID-19. The virus is still there and poses a very real threat to the health of our residents. We know that wearing a mask and getting vaccinated is a powerful combination to boost protection against COVID-19, so we encourage everyone to maintain these measures to stay healthy as the holiday season approaches. . “
The public health requirement for indoor face coverings has been in place since August 20, in response to high levels of community transmission, percent positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. Since then, the county’s percent positivity rate has fallen by more than half of August’s peak rate of 14%, but other key parameters of COVID-19 remain high.
Unvaccinated residents should get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves from serious illnesses related to COVID-19. Hours, locations, and more information for public health vaccination clinics are available at Health.NHCgov.com.
Expanded reminder clinic
Starting Monday, October 11, the New Hanover County Public Health Department will offer COVID-19 booster shots from Pfizer (Comirnaty) exclusively at the Independence Mall vaccination clinic with extended hours.
Callbacks will be offered at the following times:
- Independence Mall (3500 Oleander Drive)
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- Monday and Friday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Tuesday and Thursday, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Appointments are required for booster doses with Public Health and can be made at takemyshot.nc.gov. People who need help planning booster doses can contact the New Hanover County Coronavirus Call Center at 910-798-6800.
Individuals do not need to return to the same location where they received their initial vaccines for a booster. Find other vaccine locations using the NCDHHS Location Finder.
Information on eligibility of boosters is available at Health.NHCgov.com/Coronavirus.
NCDHHS County Vaccination Rate Updates
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced updates to North Carolina county-level immunization data, resulting in changes in overall immunization rates in several counties across the state . NCDHHS discovered a CDC report that shared vaccination rates based on county of administration, instead of the county of residence of the person vaccinated.
County-level vaccination rate changes have been corrected for county of residence and now reflect a 1% decrease in New Hanover County vaccination rates for partially and fully vaccinated residents.
COVID-19 Community Data, as of October 7:
- Over the past week, 406 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 deaths have been reported (for a total of 25,203 total COVID-19 cases in New Hanover County and 277 resident deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic). Currently, 1,296 people have suspected active cases. Check out the County Data Dashboard on Health.NHCgov.cov / Coronavirus.
- The 14-day positivity rate is 6.1%, continuing a downward trend from the 8% reported last week and 9.6% the week before. This metric represents positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of total countywide testing and is updated to COVID19.NCDHHS.gov/ Dashboard.
- An average of 47 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized daily, according to the NHRMC. Local hospitalization data are updated every week by NHRMC and by State and regional NCDHHS.
- About 142,533 residents of New Hanover County (about 61%) have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and about 134,448 residents (about 57%) are fully immunized and protected against COVID-19.
View information on Public Health vaccination clinics, booster doses and more at Health.NHCgov.com/Coronavirus.
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