Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a funding opportunity to award a total of $4 million to up to 10 organizations to increase access to high-quality substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Using federal funds designated for SUD treatment, NCDHHS is prioritizing individuals with I/DD as beneficiaries of this funding.

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.

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 more than 100,000 additional people in the state.

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 today announced a new dental public health training program: Oral Health Training Program for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD). The program, launched by NCDHHS’s Division of Public Health’s Oral Health Section, aligns with its mission to improve the oral health of North Carolinians and to support dental public health workforce development.

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.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health is proud to recognize the selfless, community-minded spirit of health professionals and volunteers in North Carolina communities during National Rural Health Day 2021. National Rural Health Day falls on the third Thursday in November each year and recognizes the efforts of those serving the health needs of an estimated 57 million people across the nation.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live Cafecito and tele-town hall on Nov. 16, 6–7 p.m. to discuss the safety and effectiveness of the recently authorized Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced that Behavioral Health and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) Tailored Plans will launch Dec. 1, 2022, instead of July 1, 2022.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has partnered with community groups to create nine walk-in Family Vaccination Sites across the state to help families get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Children ages 5 to 11 can now receive a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a lower dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children in this age group, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend all children 5–11 get the vaccine to protect against serious illness and help keep them healthy.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released the North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System (NC-VDRS) Data Dashboard, an interactive online dashboard that provides aggregate information on violent deaths for all 100 counties in North Carolina. The NC-VDRS dashboard, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was created to make data more accessible to public health partners to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of prevention efforts around violence and safety.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services joined approximately 40 cross-sector health care organizations committing to using and sharing high-level data about race, ethnicity, language and gender to inform best practices to promote health equity.

The $25 Summer Card pilot program operated by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) was successful in encouraging COVID-19 vaccination, according to a published research letter by authors from NCDHHS, the Advanced Center for COVID-19 Related Disparities (ACCORD) at the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and the Departments of Biostatistics and of Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill).

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a draft of its Olmstead Plan designed to assist people with disabilities to reside in and experience the full benefit of inclusive communities. The plan is open for public comment through Nov. 8, 2021. NCDHHS encourages all interested individuals and organizations to provide comment on this draft plan. NCDHHS will publish the final, two-year plan in December and begin implementing activities outlined in the plan in calendar years 2022 and 2023.