Press Releases

Recognizing the role everyone plays in helping North Carolina’s children reach their untapped potential, Governor Roy Cooper declared April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced changes to its COVID-19 dashboard and state-funded testing sites as the federal public health emergency comes to an end May 11, 2023, and COVID-19 becomes part of a routine part of public health and health care activities.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Thursday, March 23, from 6 to 7 p.m. to discuss the importance of whole person health with a focus on realities in rural communities and available resources across the state.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today launched an improved QuitlineNC, offering more services and ways for tobacco users to successfully quit smoking or stop using other tobacco products, including vaping and e-cigarettes. Those seeking to quit smoking can now access "Quit Coaches" through live chat or text, watch group videos and create a personalized dashboard to track their quitting progress.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced it has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to operate the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program during the 2022-23 school year.
Building on its ongoing COVID-19 events, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 6 to 7 p.m. to discuss the importance of heart health as well as heart disease prevention and management.
With overdose deaths in 2021 increasing 22%, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services continues to extend mobile crisis care, treatment programs and other efforts to improve behavioral health services across the state.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is proposing a change to blood donor eligibility by using gender-inclusive, individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Wednesday, Jan. 25, from 6 to 7 p.m. to discuss Navigating Mental Wellness, Aging, Caregiving and the Impacts of COVID-19.
Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed January as National Radon Action Month to help educate people about how to reduce their risk of lung cancer from radon. Because testing is the only way to know if your family is at risk, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is providing 3,000 free radon test kits available now at radon.ncdhhs.gov.
A recall has been issued for any shell and shucked oysters harvested in the southeastern Galveston Bay known as TX1 between Nov. 17 and Dec. 7, 2022. North Carolina restaurants and stores may be impacted by this recall, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced.
People who test positive for COVID-19, particularly those who are uninsured or don’t have a primary care doctor, will have better access to treatments thanks to a time-limited telemedicine program launched by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with StarMed Healthcare. After a positive test, early treatment is key to avoiding severe illness and hospitalizations, and treatment may even reduce complications from post-COVID conditions, also called long COVID.
As children across North Carolina head back to school this month, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reminds families that vaccinations are an important part of back-to-school success and overall health and well-being.

At the end of 2021, an estimated 4,000 people were living with HIV in North Carolina and unaware of their HIV+ status. Getting tested routinely and knowing their status means people can get treatment quicker.
 

Due to the high prevalence and underdiagnosis of viral hepatitis, the NC Department of Health and Human Services recognizes May as Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 as Hepatitis Testing Day.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today published Governmental Public Health: Workforce and Infrastructure Improvement in Action, a review of the public health workforce and infrastructure across North Carolina. The paper provides an overview of select programs and opportunities within the NCDHHS Division of Public Health that aim to strengthen the public health infrastructure and support workforce development while reducing disparities and advancing equity.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is cautioning families about certain infant formula that has been recalled by Abbott for potentially containing a bacteria that can lead to hospitalization in infants. The recall includes powdered formulas Similac, Alimentum, EleCare and EleCare Jr., and they should not be used.
The North Carolina National Guard is deploying guard members to Alamance Regional Medical Center, part of the Cone Health System, in Burlington, N.C. to support staff and hospital operations. The 25 NCNG soldiers and airmen will arrive Thursday morning.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. today issued the below Secretarial Advisory, urging the following actions to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
Programs that provide overdose prevention and syringe access are serving more people and potentially saving more lives, according to the 2020-2021 North Carolina Safer Syringe Initiative Annual Report released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.