Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today updated the COVID-19 County Alert System , which shows 27 red counties — a decrease from 61 red counties on the previous Feb. 4 County Alert System — and the fewest red counties in the state since the start of the County Alert System.

Vaccine providers in North Carolina and across the nation continued to be hampered by delayed shipments and deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines due to severe weather. This afternoon, the federal government notified impacted states that vaccine shipments are expected to resume the beginning of next week.

As North Carolinians prepare for severe winter weather conditions, officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services caution people not to use gasoline-powered generators or tools, outdoor grills and camp stoves in enclosed spaces. These devices should be used outside only and at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and air vents to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has been notified by the federal government of continued delays in some shipments and deliveries of COVID-19 vaccine this week due to severe weather. Both first and second dose shipments have been impacted. The Department is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and vaccine providers to help minimize the potential effects of these delays.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with NC Department of Public Instruction today announced it will begin issuing additional benefits on Feb. 19, 2021 through the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. These benefits will be received over several days starting Friday for those who already have an EBT card for Food and Nutrition Services or P-EBT benefits.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has added new resources to its Spanish language COVID-19 vaccination website, Protégete a ti y a los demás. !VACÚNATE!, including a new video on COVID-19 vaccines and tools for understanding vaccination groups and finding locations to get vaccinated.

As part of its partnership with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to research public attitudes toward COVID-19, the North Carolina Central University Advanced Center for COVID-19 Related Disparities' (ACCORD) new research study shows communication about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 coupled with local access to COVID-19 vaccination can significantly reduce vaccine hesitancy among historically marginalized people.

Starting today, North Carolina Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) participants can purchase groceries online using their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards through Instacart.com or the Instacart mobile app, providing access to an additional authorized online EBT retailer, Food Lion. This flexibility will allow participants to buy food while promoting social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and will help families with transportation and mobility barriers.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today reported the first identification of the COVID-19 variant B.1.351 in a North Carolina resident. The B.1.351 variant was first detected in South Africa in October and in the United States in January.  

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today reported that North Carolina has reached a sobering milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic — more than 10,000 North Carolinians have died from the virus. The state also surpassed 800,000 total cases today.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has added new county demographic data for COVID-19 vaccinations to the vaccine data dashboard. Data on people who have received the first dose or both the first and second dose of the vaccine are available by race, ethnicity, gender and age group and can be filtered by county.

North Carolinians have protected themselves and their loved ones from the flu along with COVID-19 by taking preventative measures such as wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from people who do not live with them, and frequently washing their hands or using hand sanitizer.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that today's COVID-19 Data Dashboard includes a large number of cases from tests performed at FastMed Urgent Care clinics during December 2020 and January 2021 that had not been previously reported to NCDHHS.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released new tools to help North Carolinians get their COVID-19 vaccine questions answered and to find vaccine locations in the state.

North Carolina surpassed the 1 million mark of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered across the state last Friday. This milestone capped a week when the state's vaccine providers administered more than 99% of first doses.

On January 27, North Carolina reported administering 99% of its first doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and as of this morning the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks the state as 6th in the nation for total doses administered, 12th for first doses administered per 100,000 people, and 17th for total doses administered per 100,000 people.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services has been awarded the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's 988 State Planning Grant through Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit administrator of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline). This grant, totaling $129,555, provides support to begin implementing the Lifeline's new 988 number.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will continue two programs that help North Carolinians access services such as relief payments, access to primary medical care, diagnostic testing, food and additional supports during the pandemic.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has expanded its vaccine data dashboard to provide information about vaccine doses promised to and received by the state. Users also will be able to see the percent of doses received that have been administered.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released the COVID-19 Community Readiness toolkit to help individuals find mental and behavioral health supports and resources in their communities.