Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today updated the COVID-19 vaccination dashboard to better show how many people in North Carolina are up to date with current COVID-19 vaccination recommendations.

In the face of nationwide competition for testing supplies and shortages of testing staff, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is pulling all available levers to support existing testing sites, to open more sites across the state and to increase access to at-home collection kits.

The FDA now authorizes and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends individuals who received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine get a booster dose after five months. This announcement from federal agencies comes just three days after the announcement of a shortened wait time for a booster from six months to five months for individuals who received the Pfizer vaccine.

With COVID-19 cases reaching pandemic highs, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services urges K-12 schools to promote vaccination and boosters for students and staff and require students and staff wear masks indoors to keep students in the classroom and limit the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday announced it recommends the Pfizer COVID-19 booster for children ages 12 to 15 to further protect them from COVID-19. The CDC also recommends a third dose of Pfizer for children ages 5 to 11 who have compromised immune systems. In addition, the wait time for boosters for anyone who received Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations has been reduced from six months to five months. People who received two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should receive their booster in six months. People who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should receive their booster two months after their vaccination.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced it will issue the first round of Student Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer benefits next week for students eligible between the months of September and November 2021.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program will expand to include all low-income households needing assistance in paying their water bill.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported on its COVID-19 dashboard today the highest one-day number of COVID-19 cases. NCDHHS is closely monitoring hospital capacity and is urging North Carolinians to gather safely, get vaccinated and boosted, and wear a mask indoors in public places.

With hospitalizations due to COVID-19 rising, getting a booster of the COVID-19 vaccine remains the most important thing North Carolinians can do to keep themselves and their loved ones out of the hospital, officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced.

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.

Health experts are warning that the highly contagious COVID-19 variant, Omicron, is expected to cause the greatest surge in COVID-19 infections to date in the coming months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services urge people to get vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) as soon as possible and to get a booster as soon as they are eligible to help prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death.

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.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced it has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue the Student Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) food assistance program for eligible K-12 students through the 2021-22 school year under new rules. North Carolina is still awaiting federal approval for Child Care P-EBT (previously called “Children Under 6”) and cannot issue benefits to this group until USDA approval is received.

Officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the first reported flu-related death of the 2021–22 flu season. An adult in the western part of the state died due to complications of influenza during the second week of December.

Eligibility for Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster shot has been expanded to include 16- and 17-year-olds, making safe and effective boosters now available for everyone ages 16 and older.

Healthier Together, a public-private partnership between the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services 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.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will begin accepting applications through county social services departments for the state's Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) today.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today 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.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today 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.