>> Good mandy afternoon, I'm cohen and secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and this afternoon.

I'm joined by director of emergency management Mike sprayberry Monica mcghee and Karen Maginnis our American Lang sign language interpreters and Jackie and jasmine metivier Spanish interpreters.

As far as today's numbers as of this morning, there were 100 there were 10,028 new cases reported today, sorry that's 10,028 new cases reported today.

>> There are currently 3,960 people hospitalized right now across North Carolina.

And sadly now there have been 7,328 deaths.

The 10 months that we've been fighting this pandemic this is the most worried that I've been for our state.

We continue to set new records.

We reported over 10,000 cases yesterday.

And again today.

Our tests that are positive remain in the double digits.

And most worrisome every day we see new record high the people hospitalized with COVID-19 and record high of those needing intensive care.

Many hospitals have stopped non urgent procedures to free up staff, we're open to additional covid units.

The situation is so critical that last week the federal government said that if you are with people that you don't live with you should assume you become infected with covid and you're a danger to others.

Earlier this week I issued my first Evers ever secretarial directive with immediate actions for North Carolinians to take to save lives and slow the spread of this virus.

It calls on North Carolinians to stay home.

You should only leave home for essential activities such as going to work or school for health care to care for family members or to buy food.

If you're over 65 or high risk for developing serious illness use delivery services or an alternative pickup method for food and retail.

Do not gather with people that do not live with you do not go to another person's home indoors and do not have others over your home indoors.

When you do leave home for essential activities always wear a mask and keep distance from people.

Given the level of viral spread there is a high risk that you could have covid right now and don't know it.

I know this is hard we will get through it.

We now even have a more research that shows that the 3 W's work remember those 3 W's wear a mask anytime you're with people you don't live with wait apart from others and wash your hands often.

And we have a new tool to combat this virus.

It's our vaccines.

We're working hard to get vaccines out to people as fast as possible or local health departments and hospitals have been ramping up quickly putting their vaccine plans to work already more than a 180,000 doses have been given and in the last 24 hours alone 20,000 shots went into arms.

We're hearing from our vaccine partners that they are anxious for more doses.

The state is also in in implementing its vaccine plan we are moving forward with facilitating large vaccination events starting next week.

And we continue to onboard additional vaccine provider starting with our federally qualified health centers.

Director sprayberry will share how emergency management is supporting North Carolina's vaccine, operational effort, particularly how they're supporting our local health Department who have been around the clock in around the clock pandemic response for close to a year now.

Remember Maxine supplies are very limited.

While some people want to be first in line to get their shot.

We knew going into this that others have very legitimate reasons to be hesitant about the vaccine.

Understandably communities who have faced longstanding and continuing racial and ethnic injustices in our health care system in a broader society Mayfield greater distrust towards vaccines.

All vaccine providers have the responsibility to ensure equitable access to vaccines which means that they take intentional actions to reach and engage historically marginalized communities.

We're partnering with trusted community leader leaders and organizations to provide accurate information to all North Carolinians and we need your help.

As you share information with the public please share these important facts.

Scientists had a head start these vaccines were built upon years of work to develop vaccines for similar viruses.

Like all vaccines.

They are rigorously tested for safety and effectiveness.

More than 70,000 people volunteered in clinical trials for the 2 vaccines to make sure they were safe and worked to prevent COVID-19.

There were no serious safety concerns noted in the clinical trials and to date the vaccines are 95% effective in preventing COVID-19.

You can not get COVID-19 from the vaccine.

You may have temporary reactions like a sore arm headache.

We're feeling tired and achy for a day or 2 after receiving the vaccine.

I will be rolling up my sleeve to get my shot as soon as it's my turn.

You can get accurate information about vaccines from our website, your spot your shot dot NC .gov.

You can also find contact information there for Loke local vaccine providers.

It will take many months to vaccinate everyone who wants it.

Keep practicing the 3 W's wear a mask wait 6 feet apart wash your hands until everyone has gotten a chance to get vaccinated and with that I'll turn it over to director sprayberry for a few remarks.

>> Thank you secretary Cohen, thank you for your continued outstanding leadership, you are appreciated.

Good afternoon, everyone today is day 305 of the state emergency response team activation for the COVID-19 response.

First an update on the winter weather state is experiencing.

Snow has been falling in the Western counties and several inches have accumulated in some areas.

Buena Nashville have seen the most snowfall so far with 4 to 5 inches and more in coming.

Hazardous travel conditions are expected across much of western North Carolina well into the weekend.

Our great partners in the highway Patrol and the Department of Transportation are out working hard to keep the roads clear and open.

There are no major traffic incidents are power outages to report at this time.

We have deployed resources to 2 known highway hotspots we're vehicles often get stranded during winter weather.

Those are the Turner grade on Interstate 77 in surry County and the steep grade on Interstate 40 near old Fort McDowell County.

The gateway to the mountains.

These resources include personnel and equipment from the highway Patrol in C dot and the North Carolina National Guard, including heavy records that can help quickly free up vehicles that are still up this strategy works to keep these important interstates open.

If you're in an area with significant snowfall it's best to stay off the roads unless you absolutely must travel.

This will help the dot and local crews clear the roads quickly.

If you must travel slowdown increase following distance and travel carefully, using your lights and wipers.

There's always you can visit drive-in C .gov for the latest on road conditions and closed roads.

This winter weather reminds us of how important it is to have a family emergency plan for all hazards.

Everyone is encouraged to go to ready NC .org to build their own custom plan being prepared so important special thanks to Seth.

The 17 year-old from care you mailed to some important information well prepared and so we can enhance our operation here at the stadio she.

We're continuing to support our outstanding partners at the Department of Health and Human Services through the statewide vaccination effort daily interagency planning is ongoing to support vaccination operations.

This includes our local partners.

The first National Guard teams to support vaccination will be reporting early next week to serve in Forsyth County and with Albemarle regional health services, a public health agency that serves 8 counties in northeastern North Carolina.

Additional teams from the National Guard are currently being assembled and will be deployed based on the local needs of our County partners.

The National Guard is supporting this vaccine mission while continuing its work supporting foodbanks and rapid covid testing sites across the state during the pandemic.

Our NC IE him logistics team continues to support dhhs and the distribution, a personal protective equipment statewide we're also supporting hospitals in their mid search efforts to accommodate increasing numbers of patients.

Emergency supplies of dry ice are in place in our warehouses in tarboro and bait.

This dry eyes can be requested by hospitals health departments or medical providers if 30 critical risk of losing valuable vaccine.

Due to loss of ultra cold storage are unable to obtain dry eyes through normal purchasing rip methods.

Let me encourage everyone to get the vaccine when your turn comes, it's safe and it's free.

I'll be rolling up my sleeve to get the shot when it's my turn in addition to the 3 dead is our best chance to end this pandemic as for most of the population to receive the vaccine.

You have a spot.

So take your shot.

A special thanks to all of our local health departments, hospitals Healthcare systems and local emergency management agencies for your outstanding work in partnership.

As my battle buddy doctor Mandy Cohen says it's more critical than ever to observe the 3 W's wear a cloth face covering wait at least 6 feet apart and wash your hands often that's where wait and watch as always don't forget to look out for your family friends and neighbors in the call your loved one's daily with kindness and cooperation we will all get through this together as one team.

One mission one family.

Thank you madam secretary.

>> Thank you director I appreciate you and your team as well it's been a current tremendous partnership over almost a year at this point.

I met with that we will open and take your questions.

>> Yeah.

They that.

You've got and and how that one for you.

>> I.

Thanks Steve.

We know that vaccine is in limited supply.

Right now we have been vaccinating our health care workers who work directly with covid patients.

Folks in our long-term care facilities both the workers and the residents and now just this week we've started to move on to those who are above the age of 75.

After our next group will be those who are our frontline essential workers meaning those workers who have to go in person to work and it is hard for them to be physically distant in that work.

Our police officers are child care workers.

And we have that prioritization to make sure that we can protect those who are at the highest risk of death and dying.

That's why we went to our nursing homes and long-term care are most vulnerable.

But it's also why we we want to think about those at highest risk of exposure.

We do why we we vaccinate or health care workers first and and as we move forward we'll be working to vaccinate those frontline essential workers like our police firefighters childcare workers.

Right now we are working very quickly to get the vaccine that we have been allocated by the federal government into arms as a state we have allocated all of that vaccine out to our vaccine providers and they have been working very hard over the last it's only been you know 2, 3, weeks that we're into this but they've been ramping up particularly since we've started 2021.

They've really ramped up their efforts and really proud of that then embracing that sense of urgency that we all feel to get vaccine into focus as quickly as possible.

Now as far as when it will be available for anyone who wants it I think as we've been saying all along I think it's going to be well into the spring in the late spring until we have enough vaccine available to anyone who wants it at any point.

So we're going to keep working to get the vaccine that we get from the federal government out to folks as quickly as possible.

It's why we're supporting our local partners or health departments are hospitals now rescue 8 seas in their work and getting a vaccine as quickly as possible we want to thank our National Guard partners and our emergency management partners that are continuing to support these efforts as we all work together here in North Carolina.

>> In your home.

>> Haha all day, you know I were you that you could put in for a year and they get there that he you know I it's not what I said that I I yeah like one.

>> He's given me and him yeah.

>> Great thanks rose great question.

So yes, you can get a vaccine even if it's not in your home County now we always encourage folks to to call close to home first and start there.

But no you don't have to stay in your County, particularly depending on where you're your home is located it may be quicker to go to another County or to your local hospital that might that might be closer but maybe right over the border, the county, so you can show up in in any County though we'd we'd encourage folks to.

Call their their local departments of of health first.

We have prioritized trying to get this vaccine and an access point in all 100 counties right that was a a priority for us here in North Carolina to make sure they were access points in every single County so that folks who didn't have the ability to to drive.

Too far could get an access point in their County but you could show up at at any site and I get a vaccine assuming that you are meeting the prioritization requirement and remember we're still at health care workers who work directly with covid patients.

Our long-term care.

Folks either though the workers or the residents.

And now we have opened to those who are over 75 years old of age to 75 or older, so those are the those are the groups that we are vaccinating right now.

>> Then I'm all right, thanks forest head.

I >> lot yeah and yeah, the the day is it.

Yeah and back to the earlier it's a whole lot to buy it.

Yeah you can is it can't be happy to know the vote yet.

The happy yeah a lot of mine yeah has >> Mon you have a plan for now.

>> Thanks rose.

Let me start with the latter half which is how we supporting our local partners to do this and as director sprayberry mention night these are partners that have been running hard for almost a year responding to this pandemic and we at the state want to make sure we're supporting them so our partners in emergency management or.

Are partnering with our local health departments and what we've asked is any of our local health Department need any support any kind of staffing needs whether that's back office.

Us help to even do data entry to do the vaccines themselves they just need to raise their hand and ask and we have the ability to mobilize staff to to various counties, depending on what they they need.

So folks just need to raise their hand use the same process that we go through if we're in a hurricane.

Seek to use that request process we're using.

Staffing support such as those who have been doing our our contact tracing and we are mobilizing them and and redeploying them as we need to support folks.

In addition there have been wonderful offers a volunteer help across the board particularly for vaccinators that there's been a lot of folks who raise their hand to say we can be vaccinators which is wonderful so our team has been coordinating with those folks who have volunteered to match them up with where the need is and I think that's why you're seeing the rate of vaccine going into arms has really picked up now that we're at the holiday time and we're able to sort of do that support for local partners things have really sped up and I think you're going to continue to see that pace continue to accelerate as far as the overall allocation that we get from the federal government that that I think is questions better answered for them.

They are making the determination at the federal level how much vaccine we get it the state.

Then our job is to get that out to our providers as quickly as possible which we have done.

And men for our providers to get the vaccine into arms, so I think we're working along all of the different pieces of this logistics chain if you will, and you know look everyone's working hard feel that sense of urgency wanted to get vaccine out as quickly as possible and we've been ramping up work with the director anything to end now he's good.

All right, thanks for us.

>> I mean you from.

>> I hear.

>> The whole.

We have a lot of them in our area in the war and I know you any other plan though you were out and you playing the game, you know in in May you put the awful that even in what have we will believe that I have with awfully happy we're going to there.

>> Vanessa thanks for that question.

So couple of things that yes a field hospital is now open.

And I mean I think it is is very much recognizing the fact that our hospitals are under strain that they needed to set up a new facility to add some additional capacity.

In order to be able to respond to covid that open yesterday they have had patients.

There right now.

And that is really a local decision they came to us saying we want to open that field hospital we think that is the solution that will help us here.

Amongst the these counties and these hospital systems and then at the state we want it we work very hard to make sure that they have all of the regulatory and safety things that they need to have in place in order to open.

A facility like that right in order to operate and at a level that can offer the medical support and the safety that it needs to do.

So we work closely with them once the local teams on the ground said that is the solution that we think is going to make most sense for us.

So there's not a direct trigger necessary to say if this is happening we're going to build a field hospital for them that was the right solution a lot of other places in the state we have a lot of ability to surge.

Our hospital capacity within the walls of the hospitals themselves so we don't have to go outside of them.

Often the rate limiting step are the most precious commodity for us is people resources are talented doctors and nurses and respiratory tax and others and so the physical space is often not the limit or so what we have been working to make sure we can do with our hospital partners is have good visibility do they have the staffing that they need are we able to move patients around if if one hospital starts to get.

Overloaded and can we all share the workload and what I would say is they've been fantastic collaboration across the state and I think that comes after a year of hard work to to be in the place to be able to respond like this so that was the right decision for the communities to to build that field hospital not necessarily a trigger in all places I think every.

Region and partnership will will make different decisions in from from us at the state we just want to support them in those decisions.

Thank you to the end.

>> Thank you, thanks Vanessa.

Yeah, I had nothing.

Okay so >> obviously we've been seeing the numbers really really taking off.

You know.

I would say through the fallen into the winter we get here you're into the new year as well of course I mean and I feel like the numbers have been growing like they've they've never grown before, I mean is there anything else at play other than people letting their guard down getting together maybe they're not wearing masks you think maybe we have this new variant here in North Carolina or is there something else that you're seeing playing factor into this large growth.

>> Yeah, Vanessa it's a great question.

I think some of it starts with the fact of the way this virus spread it's called exponential growth meaning as once you start to accept to increase you actually accelerate that rate of increase its not alone.

But it's not a linear acceleration it's and it's a an exponential that mean it it gets faster and faster as you get more and more and I think that is what we're seeing number one second I do think that that folks have had a long year and I get that they are they're tired.

They want life to go back to prepandemic and I think sometimes we are letting down our guard particularly around the holidays.

I know there is a lot of holiday travel we saw in pictures at our.

At our airlines and and such so we know there was holiday travel.

We know that these increased cases are linked to the fact that folks are getting together indoors and not wearing their mask and that's why I issued the secretarial directive this week to be extremely clear about what folks should not do.

They need to be staying home unless they are conducting essential business unless you're going to work or school getting groceries.

You should not be going to someone else's home indoors.

You should not be having people over to your home indoors.

So those that the things I think are happening now as far as the variant it is possible that that variant is here and in fact it is it is likely and we are operating as if it was here now it has not been identified here in this is the very end that was first identified in the United Kingdom as being more contagious.

It has been identified in a number of states across the United States here it's why we are operating as if it's already here and that we need to realize that this virus was contagious before.

And now is even more contagious as we go forward so I think it is all of these things together which is why we have to be particularly vigilant.

As we move through the next number of months.

>> The next question is from then a form with the news and observer.

>> Thank you for taking my questions that are in a vehicle and ICU capacity has decreased over the last few weeks in North Carolina has a solid second in a row of new cases reported at over 10,000.

Other parts of the country has seen their ICU capacity his era DC the happening here at the spread isn't mitigated in the next weeks.

I'm also you're talking about earlier with the field hospital that's been set up in western North Carolina.

Is there discussion about activating the state medical shelter and on and hamlet.

>> Ben thanks for that question and far as ICU capacity.

Yes, I do expect for us to see further.

Strain on that capacity.

Now today we've been able to manage that in a number of ways first I know that our hospital systems are not doing some of their non urgent procedures that could result in needing to use more hospital beds and even just the staff, so some of the staff that can work in do in the surgical area can now be moved over to handle ICU level patients so right, it's also managing physical space.

But it for ICU care in particular it's making sure we have the doctors and nurses that know how to give that higher level of intensive care unit.

Kinds of care that that is what we've been able to manage well I think so folks are decreasing some of their non urgent procedures.

They're also putting to patients in a room for example, so that they can manage their staff better as well as manage equipment as and and infection control so we are we're trying to manage in that way and conserve space and staff resources.

And then I think we are converting space over and opening additional ICU beds again that requires the staffing to do that.

But that's what we're working through to make sure that folks have that capacity to expand if they need it.

So we're going to manage this hour to hour day today with our hospital partners as we go through this.

>> And as far as the the the the hamlet area as I was saying physical space tends not to be our problem in most areas but we have that hamlet space in case we need to activate it and we do need more physical space but as of right now we do not have plans to put that into.

Action right right this moment, anything else director.

It's ready.

He says yeah.

>> A final question say will be a follow-up from the intestines that the new germ.

>> Thing for taking my follow-up to undergo and so is North Carolina concerned at all about the CVS Walgreens partnership regarding vaccinations of long-term care staff and residents.

I as of Tuesday that partnership better see the 166,000 I think though says and given up 13,000 of those the the stay have any indication that that has picked up this week.

>> Thanks for that question.

I think a couple of things with the CVS Walgreens partnership again that is that is a program run by the federal government.

And it was our decision to turn on that program and when we do we are required to allocate some of our doses to that program we felt it was important to do given the high-risk nature of our vulnerable populations in nursing homes and others.

And so we did allocate those doses.

I will say that we are not yet getting that direct data from the CVS and Walgreens program to the state.

It goes to the federal government first because again it is a federal program, but we're hoping to see more of that data so we can better understand and I can better answer your question been about how things are going there because we do see the fact that we aren't seeing the kind of numbers we were we that that I think they were hoping for either in in the first weekend we're not sure is that data lag or what what is is happening.

So first we need to see the data.

Second we are hearing anecdotal reports of more vaccine hesitancy in our long-term care workforce.

On that is why we have spent a long time thinking about how to partner with folks in our long-term care settings with those who are in historically marginalized populations to make sure we're getting good information out to folks so that they feel confident about taking the vaccine when it is their turn.

So I think we still need to tease through all this but I think it's important for all of us to make sure we're getting out good information about the vaccine that it is safe, it's effective.

It's been tested, you can't get covid from it I think those are really key important message is that everyone needs to see I think you're going to see even more public service announcements from us more materials to make sure that folks can get good information about this vaccine and make decisions so I think there's first issue is getting transparency from the data of what's going on with the CVS and Walgreens program and then addressing any vaccine hesitancy that might be happening amongst our long-term care workers and so that they think can feel comfortable.

Taking the vaccine when it is it is offered to them.

Okay, I think that was our last question for today, I want to thank everyone for joining us for the second press conference of the week.

Happy New Year to everybody and we'll be back next week with more.

Thank you.