Press Releases

Updated boosters are becoming available in North Carolina, following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) announcement this week that people 12 and older can receive an updated booster to protect against the latest COVID-19 variants. Vaccines are beginning to arrive in the state and vaccine appointments will be more widely available starting next week.

Wednesday, the FDA authorized both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 booster dose, which protects against the original as well as the Omicron strain.

Health equity, education and economic stability for all North Carolinians are key strategies in the 2022 North Carolina State Health Improvement Plan (NC SHIP), which the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released today.

Today, new interactive online dashboards show how North Carolina’s children from birth to age 5 receive services like child care, food benefits and protective services, providing insight into program successes and elevating continued needs.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 6–7 p.m., to discuss COVID-19 vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, boosters, testing and treatment.

Providers can continue treating uninsured patients with the monoclonal antibody bebtelovimab after the product went on the commercial market last week because of a plan implemented by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Thanks to a pilot program from the White House and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to offer additional vaccines to states hosting large LGBTQI+ events, Mecklenburg County Public Health will be distributing monkeypox vaccines at Charlotte Pride events this weekend.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live Spanish-language Cafecito and tele-town hall on Tuesday, Aug. 16, from 7–8 p.m. to discuss COVID-19 vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, boosters, testing and treatment.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services kicks off the Know Before You Go campaign today, a statewide initiative reminding North Carolinians to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and boosters in time for the start of the 2022-2023 school year, fall festivities, large gatherings and end-of-year celebrations and holidays.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a report of the state’s monkeypox data, including how many vaccines have been administered across the state since July. This data shows that while 70% of cases are in Black men, Black North Carolinians have received less than a quarter of the vaccinations so far.