TownTalk Broadcast Audio 4-22-21
The base of information for TownTalk 4-22-21 comes from the following press release from the State of North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper and NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen.
April 21, 2021 Press Release
Governor Cooper Outlines Timeline for Lifting State’s COVID-19 Restrictions
As vaccinations continue and trends stabilize, NC will lift mandatory social distancing, capacity, and mass gathering restrictions by June 1
Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. laid out a timeline for lifting current pandemic restrictions today. With stable trends and continued vaccination success, the state expects to lift mandatory social distancing, capacity, and mass gathering restrictions by June 1. The Governor plans to issue an executive order next week outlining safety restrictions for the month of May.
“Each shot in an arm is a step closer to putting this pandemic in the rearview mirror,” said Governor Cooper. “North Carolinians have shown up for each other throughout this entire pandemic and we need to keep up that commitment by getting our vaccines.”
North Carolina continues to focus on distributing vaccines quickly and equitably. This fast and fair approach to getting shots in arms is the best way to beat this pandemic, protect one another, boost the economy and make it possible for restrictions to be lifted.
To date, the state has administered over 6.5 million vaccines. 46.9 percent of adults are at least partially vaccinated, and 35.1 percent are fully vaccinated. More than 76 percent of people 65 and older have had at least one shot.
With vaccine now widely available across the state – often with no wait for an appointment, all North Carolinians 16 and older can plan to take their shot. The state anticipates lifting the mask mandate and easing other public health recommendations, once two thirds of adult North Carolinians have received at least one vaccine dose and if trends remain stable.
“We are at an exciting moment. We now have enough vaccine for everyone,” said Secretary Cohen. “If you are 16 and older, it is your turn to join the more than 3.6 million North Carolinians who have already taken their first shot. It’s up to you to get us to the two thirds goal as quickly as possible so we can live with this virus and begin to put this pandemic behind us.”
Gov. Cooper and Sec. Cohen urged North Carolinians continue to get vaccinated and exercise good judgment even when restrictions are lifted. Businesses should continue to follow voluntary health recommendations and North Carolinians should continue to take safety measures in order to boost the economy, keep children in schools and protect each other.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released statistics indicating that North Carolina is among the states with the fewest deaths and fewest job losses per capita.
State health officials are continuing to monitor the presence of COVID-19 and its more contagious variants in North Carolina, which is why it is important to continue to follow the state’s mask mandate and continue to practice safety precautions, including the Three Ws—wear a mask, wait 6 feet apart, and wash hands often.
If you avidly follow the latest information in North Carolina about covid, the following press release from North Carolina came out Thursday, April 22, 2021 AFTER TownTalk was already complete.
NCDHHS Announces Summer Community Get-out-the-Vaccine Campaign
Initiative Aims to Vaccinate Majority of North Carolina’s Adults by Summer
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the Bringing Summer Back get-out-the-vaccine campaign that will engage community organizations across the state to fully vaccinate as many people as possible by summer.
To date, more than 3.6 million adults in North Carolina have been vaccinated with at least one dose. While the state has made great progress in helping people schedule and get to their vaccine appointments, more than half of the adult population is still completely unvaccinated, putting them at higher risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
Being fully vaccinated means getting back to hugging loved ones who are also fully vaccinated, gathering with fully vaccinated friends and family and going to small indoor gatherings with less worry. Getting the majority of North Carolina’s adults vaccinated by summer means getting back to the summer activities we all love — like backyard gatherings with families and friends, public fireworks, outdoor festivals or parades — all without wearing masks.
The Bringing Summer Back campaign is a fun, flexible and community-centered approach that creates a space for every organization and individual to roll up their sleeves and do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 and get everyone back to the people and places they love. The campaign will run during two weeks in May (May 9–15 and May 16–21) and two weeks in June (June 6–12 and June 20–26), during which organizations across the state will rally together to promote vaccination.
Organizations can get involved in a number of ways:
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- Organize volunteer days: Invite members, volunteers and others to participate in a day(s) of phone banking, door knocking or other forms of outreach to the communities they serve.
- Distribute resources: Notify communities about efforts to help people get COVID-19 vaccine appointments through emails, social media or other creative ways.
- Host a get-out-the-vaccine challenge: Create friendly competition. See who can reach out to the most people via phone, door knocking, social media or other ways. Offer an incentive to get people motivated and involved.
- Get creative: Come up with your own approach to encourage people to get vaccinated.
Organizations that would like to get involved can register to participate and access toolkit materials at covid19.ncdhhs.gov/BringSummerBack (Spanish: covid19.ncdhhs.gov/Devueltaalverano) or by emailing BringingSummerBack@dhhs.nc.gov.
The toolkit offers simple, specific steps everyone can take to navigate people to an appointment, such as calling loved ones who haven’t been vaccinated yet, sharing their experience on social media and asking if anyone needs support in getting vaccinated.
For more information about COVID-19 vaccines in North Carolina, visit YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov or call the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Help Center at 888-675-4567. Appointments can be made by visiting myspot.nc.gov.
