COVID-19 Situation Update: December 8 | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Releases:

    As of 11:55 a.m. today:

    Newly Reported Cases: 3,294
    Daily Percent Positive: 8.0%
    NC Currently Hospitalized: 1,371
    NC Total Deaths: 18,923
    Percent of Adult Population at Least Partially Vaccinated: 73%
    Percent of Adult Population Fully Vaccinated: 69%

    More data are available online at covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.

    Daily Update:

• Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D., today highlighted changes in federal law that make obtaining insurance through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace more affordable and available to 100,000-plus additional people in the state. Read more.
• Healthier Together, a public-private partnership between NCDHHS and NC Counts Coalition, has awarded $500,000 in the second round of grants to support a new cohort of local community groups to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines throughout North Carolina. Read more.
• We want to hear from you: Please take the NCDHHS Dashboard Survey.

    COVID-19 Vaccinations:

• A free COVID-19 vaccine is available to all who want it. Vaccination is now open to everyone 5 and older. Visit MySpot.nc.gov to find a location.
• If you received the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, you can get your booster six months after your second shot. If you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you can get your booster two months after your shot. Anyone over 50 or at high risk should get a booster dose now.
• You can choose any brand of COVID-19 vaccine for your booster shot. Limited preliminary evidence suggests that booster doses of one of the two mRNA vaccines — Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech— more effectively raise antibody levels than a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
• To learn more about boosters and to find a spot to take your shot, go here.
• For more information on the COVID-19 vaccines, visit YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov or call the COVID-19 Vaccine Help Center for free at 1-888-675-4567.

    COVID-19 Testing & Treatment:

    Anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 or has been exposed to the virus should get tested as soon as possible. To find a testing site near you, visit ncdhhs.gov/GetTested. For an up-to-date list of no-cost community testing events, visit the No-Cost Testing Events webpage. Additionally, all North Carolinians can request a free at-home COVID-19 testing kit.

    While vaccines provide the best protection from COVID-19, treatment options such as monoclonal antibodies are available if you have had symptoms of COVID-19 for 10 days or less or have been exposed to COVID-19. If taken early, they can reduce the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death. Ask your doctor about monoclonal antibodies, call the Combat COVID Monoclonal Antibodies Call Center at 1-877-332-6585 (English) or 1-877-366-0310 (Spanish), or find treatment near you.

    ICYMI:

• NCDHHS Secretary Cohen will be stepping down from the agency after 5 years of service to the state. Governor Cooper has appointed Kody Kinsley, current NCDHHS Chief Deputy Secretary for Health and lead for COVID operations, to succeed her beginning Jan. 1.
• Governor Cooper and NCDHHS Secretary Cohen provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 key metrics and trends and urged North Carolinians to get vaccinated this Holiday Season.
• NCDHHS has begun accepting applications through county social services departments for the state's Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP). The federally funded program helps low-income households with a one-time payment directly to their heating vendor to offset the high cost of warming their homes during the cold weather months. Read more.
• NCDHHS announced the State of North Carolina has been awarded more than $38 million in federal funding to establish a new water assistance program for households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• NCDHHS has added COVID-19 vaccine administration data on additional and booster doses to its vaccine data dashboard, allowing dashboard users to see the number of doses administered following a recipient’s primary series.

    For a full list of the department's videos on COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines, visit the NCDHHS YouTube Channel. Videos can also be downloaded for use on the NCDHHS Vimeo Channel.



    For more information and updates on COVID-19, visit covid19.ncdhhs.gov and nc.gov/covid19. Those with COVID-19 vaccine questions can call the COVID-19 Vaccine Help Center at 1-888-675-4567, or visit YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov.

    Contact:

    North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

    Email: news@dhhs.nc.gov  •  Phone: (919) 855-4840