COVID-19 in NC: NCDHHS makes key COVID-19 vaccine information available in state’s most used languages – Avery Journal Times

RALEIGH To ensure more North Carolinians have access to the information they need to make decisions about their health and wellbeing, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has made key COVID-19 vaccine information available in the states most used languages.

In addition to a dedicated Spanish webpage for COVID-19 vaccines, vacunate.nc.gov, materials and videos in English and Spanish, NCDHHS now has COVID-19 vaccine materials in the states five other most used languages.

In a state as diverse as North Carolina where more than 11.8% of the states population uses a language other than English at home, providing information in multiple languages is part of the departments ongoing commitment to health equity.

Information outlining the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, the right to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine and the importance of vaccination for kids and teens was translated into Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese and is available for download in the COVID-19 Communications Toolkit.

COVID-19 brought the inequities in our systems into focus, including how language can be a major barrier to getting critical health information, said Victor Armstrong, MSW, NCDHHS Chief Health Equity Officer. Delivering information in words that people understand is the first step in creating a fair and just opportunity for them to live their healthiest lives.

NCDHHS is partnering with more than 36 organizations, including those that work closely with refugee and immigrant communities, to distribute these new materials. These organizations also helped review materials to ensure the translations were accurate and culturally competent.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, NCDHHS has ensured up-to-date information on treatment, vaccination and other topics is available in English and Spanish. Since March 2021, NCDHHS has hosted six Spanish-language town halls, or Cafecitos, covering a range of COVID-19 topics. Materials for the StrongSchoolsNC school testing program were made available in the Fall of 2021 in 21 languages to meet the needs and requests of participating school districts.

NCDHHS also makes sure information about COVID-19 is accessible to North Carolinas 1.2 million people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or DeafBlind. All press briefings are interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL) as well as captioned. Captioned, ASL videos with information about COVID-19 and the vaccine are available on its website.

The COVID-19 website is screen reader compatible for those who are blind or low-vision.

The department is taking steps to expand services that address language access, but acknowledges it has a long way to go when it comes to information outside of COVID-19. NCDHHS plans to provide free training and technical assistance to organizations on cultural competence providers and language access, based on the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care, a set of 15 action steps that organizations take to reduce the cultural and linguistic barriers that diminish quality care and sustain health disparities.

NCDHHS encourages everyone to use the COVID-19 Communications Toolkit to share accurate information about COVID-19 with their community.

Area, state vaccination totals

As of Monday, Feb. 28, more than 75 percent of the total population of North Carolina has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 71 percent of the total population having received both doses of vaccine.

Of individuals 65 years of age and older, 96 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 93 percent have received their full allotment. Of individuals 12 and older, 73 percent of the states residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine, with 69 percent being completely vaccinated.

Locally, NCDHHS data indicates that Avery County has administered a total of 9,888 first doses of vaccine, or 56 percent of Avery County residents who have received their first-dose vaccine as of February 28, with 53 percent of the overall county population, or 9,243 individuals, having received a second-dose vaccination. NCDHHS also reports that 4,825 county individuals have been vaccinated with one booster or additional dose.

According to NCDHHS, county vaccination data may change once residence is verified. All data are preliminary and may change.

Latest local, state and national COVID-19 statistics

NCDHHS on Monday, Feb. 28, reported 909 new COVID-19 cases, with 1,618 individuals currently hospitalized.

As of Monday, Feb. 28, according to available dashboard data from the NCDHHS, the total number of coronavirus cases since March 2020 are 2,589,517 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19. NCDHHS reported on Feb. 28 that Avery County has 4,376 total positive community cases. The department reports Avery with 41 deaths associated with the virus.

According to latest available data as of the week ending February 26, Toe River Health District reported Avery with 68 new positive cases, 27 active positive cases, one total contacts and 24 total deaths since Aug. 1, 2021, with no new deaths over the past seven-day period.

According to NCDHHS Dashboard data on Feb. 28, Avery County reports 86 cases per 10,000 residents over the previous 14-day period, In comparison, Mitchell County reports 34.8 cases per 10,000 residents, while Yancey County reports 66.4 cases per 10,000 residents. Watauga County reports 50.2 cases per 10,000 residents, while Ashe County reports 85.3 cases per 10,000 residents during the same 14-day period.

Public health staff is working to complete the investigations and they are contacting close contacts to contain the spread of disease, TRHD reported. The Yancey, Mitchell and Avery County health departments will keep the public informed by announcing any additional cases that may arise through our local media partners.

Mitchell County reported a total of 52 positive cases over the past 14 days as of Feb. 28, according to NCDHHS, while TRHD reported 25 new positives and 11 active positives in the week ending Feb. 26, with five total contacts and 20 deaths in the county since Aug. 1, 2021. NCDHHS reports Yancey County with 120 total cases over the past 14 days, with 51 deaths, while TRHD reported 42 new positives last week and 18 active positive cases, with zero total contacts and 32 total deaths since Aug. 1, 2021.

Nationwide, World Health Organization reports 434,154,739 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with the U.S. totaling 78,186,539 million cases as of Feb. 28. WHO reports that the United States has experienced 939,950 deaths related to COVID-19 as of Monday, Feb. 28.

The N.C. State Laboratory of Public Health, reporting hospitals and commercial labs report more than 25.78 million completed tests as of Monday, Feb. 28, according to NCDHHS.

The estimate of people presumed to have recovered from the virus as of Feb. 28 is more than 2,534,052 statewide, with the estimate provided each Monday afternoon by NCDHHS. NCDHHS estimates a median time to recovery of 14 days from the date of specimen collection for non-fatal COVID-19 cases who were not hospitalized, or if hospitalization status is unknown. The estimated median recovery time is 28 days from the date of specimen collection for hospitalized non-fatal COVID-19 cases.

In neighboring counties, Watauga County reports 11,718 positive tests, with 55 deaths among residents, while Ashe County reports 6,153 positive cases, with 78 deaths as of Feb. 28, according to most recently available AppHealthCare data.

In Tennessee, Johnson County reports 5,047 cases with at least 77 deaths, while Carter County reports 16,164 cases and at least 305 deaths as of Feb. 28, according to statistics from the Tennessee Department of Health.

Over the past two weeks, Caldwell County reports 334 new positive tests as of Feb. 28 with 280 total county deaths since March 2020, while Wilkes County has 411 reported cases the past 14 days and 253 total county deaths, according to NCDHHS Dashboard data.

In the past 14 days, NCDHHS reports McDowell County with 348 cases and 160 cumulative deaths, while Burke County reports 396 cases in the two-week span with 293 cumulative deaths attributed to the virus, according to NCDHHS.

Statewide, the top four counties reporting overall total positive cases are Mecklenburg County (274,809), Wake County (285,586), Guilford County (114,598) and Forsyth County (91,251), the sum of which comprises 29.7 percent of all confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, according to Feb. 28 NCDHHS statistics.

The reported testing numbers could be incomplete due to differences in reporting from health departments and other agencies. Sources include Toe River Health District, AppHealthCare, NCDHHS, Caldwell County Health Department and Tennessee Department of Health.

Updated news and information on the coronavirus pandemic and the states response can be found by clicking to covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.

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COVID-19 in NC: NCDHHS makes key COVID-19 vaccine information available in state's most used languages - Avery Journal Times