[BRIGHT JINGLE] >> A DECLINE IN THE NUMBERS BROUGHT ABOUT THE EASING OF RESTRICTIONS.

WE ASK HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY MANDY COHEN TO TELL US MORE ABOUT IT.

♪ THANK YOU AGAIN FOR VISITING WITH US SECRETARY COHEN.

A BIG DAY ON WEDNESDAY.

GOVERNOR COOPER ANNOUNCED THE EASING OF RESTRICTIONS AND A LOT OF OTHER THINGS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT.

BUT, THAT'S WHAT EVERYBODY'S INTERESTED IN.

LET'S START WITH THAT.

DO THE DROPS IN NUMBERS, WERE THEY THE REASON WHY YOU DECIDED TO EASE SOME OF THESE RESTRICTIONS?

>> WELL FIRST TOM, ALWAYS GOOD TO BE BACK AND CHANCE TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THIS, AND AS I WENT THROUGH IN OUR PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY WE LOOK AT OUR 4 KEY METRICS THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT SINCE LAST APRIL TO REALLY GUIDE OUR DECISION-MAKING, AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS OUR CASES HAVE GONE DOWN, OUR SURVEILLANCE DATA SHOWS THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING AS MUCH VIRAL SPREAD, WE'RE SEEING OUR HOSPITALIZATIONS WAY DOWN FROM ITS PEAK, WERE SEEING OUR PERCENT OF TEST HOLDING STEADY.

NOW I WANT TO REMIND FOLKS THAT OUR TRENDS HAVE HAVE DEFINITELY GONE DOWN AND ARE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

BUT WE ALMOST BECOME NUMB TO THE NUMBERS AND WE ARE STILL HIGH.

WE STILL ARE LOOKING LIKE WE DID BACK IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.

SO THAT WAS BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS BEFORE THAT PEAK.

BUT SO WE DEFINITELY FELT LIKE WE COULD MOVE FORWARD AND EASE RESTRICTIONS, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE FOLKS ARE REMEMBERING THAT WE HAVE WORK STILL TO DO HERE.

WE HAD ANOTHER 3,000 NEW CASES REPORTED TODAY.

SO THIS VIRUS IS STILL HERE BUT WE DEFINITELY ARE SEEING POSITIVE NEWS IN OUR TRENDS WHICH IS WHY WE THOUGHT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AND EASE RESTRICTIONS.

>> BUT AFTER SEEING 6 AND 7,000 NEW CASES PER DAY, WHEN YOU'RE SEEING 1500 AND 2,000 PER DAY YEAH, YOU'RE JUST, OKAY THINGS ARE GETTING A LITTLE BIT.

LET'S TALK SPECIFICS NOW.

>> FEELING BETTER.

>> SO FAR AS EASING RESTRICTIONS ARE CONCERNED, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?

WHAT CAN WE DO THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO BEFORE?

>> WELL, I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT THE GOVERNOR IS LIFTING THIS STAY AT HOME ORDER AND THE CURFEW AT 10:00PM SO THAT IS GOING FOR SURE.

AND THEN WE ARE EASING RESTRICTIONS ON A NUMBER OF SETTINGS AND ESSENTIALLY OPENING ALL SETTINGS, NOW THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE, CONTINUED TO HAVE REDUCED CAPACITY AT THOSE SETTINGS BUT THINGS HAD BEEN CLOSED LIKE INDOOR BARS ARE NOW GOING TO BE OPEN AND OTHER SETTINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY CAPPED AT MASS GATHERING LEVELS WHICH IS 25 PEOPLE, WE'RE NOW SAYING YOU CAN OPEN AT 30% WITH A CAP OF 250 PEOPLE SO IT IS A BIG, I THINK, EASING OF RESTRICTIONS, BUT AGAIN I WANT TO CAUTION FOLKS, IT'S NOT AND IT'S NOT GOING BACK TO PREPANDEMIC.

WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE TO CONTINUE TO WEAR A MASK, CONTINUE TO SOCIAL DISTANCE, CONTINUE TO WASH YOUR HANDS, YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR THAT FROM ME AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND THE REASON TOM IS WE DO HAVE THAT WILD CARD OUT THERE THAT ARE VARIANTS.

WE'RE SEEING VARIANTS IN THIS VIRUS THAT ARE MORE CONTAGIOUS AND CAUSE MORE SEVERE DISEASE SO WE REALLY HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BUT I THINK FOLKS ARE GOING TO BE HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO EASE THESE RESTRICTIONS, WE'RE CERTAINLY HAPPY TO DO IT.

AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT EVERYONE'S WORKED SO HARD TO GET OUR VIRUS LEVEL LOWER SO WE CAN DO THIS.

>> SO LET'S TALK SOME SPECIFICS BECAUSE I KNOW OUR VIEWERS ARE GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTED IN THIS.

RESTAURANTS FOR INSTANCE.

RESTAURANTS CAN HAVE INDOOR SEATING UP TO 30% CAPACITY.

IS THAT RIGHT?

>> UP TO 50% >> 50% CAPCITY >> UP TO HALF CAPACITY HALF CAPACITY.

>> SO THAT GETS THEM MORE BACK TO NORMAL.

>> YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT AND SO BEFORE WE ALSO HAD A CURFEW OF ALCOHOL SALES AT AT 09:00PM WE'RE RAISING THAT TO 11:00PM.

SO A LITTLE MORE NORMAL FUNCTIONS FOR THEM.

BUT AGAIN I WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT STILL MEANS WEARING MASKS.

WHEN YOU'RE AT YOUR RESTAURANT WHEN YOU'RE NOT EATING ACTIVELY.

YOU KNOW I AM CONCERNED ABOUT ACTIVITIES WHERE FOLKS CAN NOT CONTINUOUSLY WEAR THEIR MASKS WHEN YOU'RE EATING, WHEN YOU'RE DRINKING, SO THOSE ARE THE PLACES WHERE I'D STILL WANT AT A PERSON TO EVALUATE THEIR INDIVIDUAL RISK, AND SAY, "IS THAT A RIGHT THING FOR ME AND MY FAMILY TO DO OR SHOULD WE GET TAKE OUT TONIGHT?"

I WANT YOU TO SUPPORT THE RESTAURANTS, BUT IT'S A MATTER OF SHOULD YOU EAT INDOORS OR TAKE IT HOME.

>> COMMON SENSE.

I THINK IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.

HOW ABOUT A SPORTING EVENT?

WE GO TO HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE.

AND EVEN PRO BASEBALL GAMES AND SUMMER SPORTS AND SO FORTH.

>> SO WE CAN DO THAT SO THEY THEY HAD BEEN AT A MASS GATHERING LIMITS REALLY ONLY LIKE 25 OR SO FOLKS INDOORS.

FOR OUR OUTDOOR VENUE WE'RE OPENING THAT WE AT AT 30% WITH NO CAP.

REMEMBER WE'RE LESS CONCERNED ABOUT OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES THAN WE ARE INDOORS.

SO OUTDOOR SO IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR BASEBALL GAMES AND YOUR SOCCER GAMES OUTSIDE THOSE ARE THOSE ARE GREAT.

NOW WHEN WE GO TO INDOOR, RISK WE KNOW GOES UP WHEN WE ARE IN INDOOR SETTINGS SO FOR INDOOR VENUES WE ARE OPENING TO 30%, HOWEVER, WITH A 250 PERSON CAP, BUT THAT SHOULD GET PLENTY OF PARTICULARLY THE FAMILY CLOSE FRIENDS OF ALL OF OUR ATHLETES IN TO BE ABLE TO SEE THOSE GAMES.

AND FOR OUR LARGER INDOOR VENUES, THOSE TO SEAT MORE THEN 5,000 FOLKS.

THEY ARE ABLE TO OPEN WITH MORE CAPACITY THAN JUST THAT 250 CAP, THEY'RE ABLE TO GO TO 15% CAPACITY, SO THEY'RE ABLE TO DO A BIT MORE BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE INFRASTRUCTURE TO MAKE SURE THEIR MONITORING FOLKS, ABOUT MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING.

>> I REMEMBER LAST MARCH WHEN THEY HAD TO CALL OFF THE ACC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT.

THAT'S A BIG DEAL IN NORTH CAROLINA.

AND SO, STILL WON'T BE HAVING THE ACC TOURNAMENT THE WAY WE'RE USED TO IT BUT WE'RE GETTING CLOSER.

IS THAT IT?

>> I THINK THAT'S RIGHT BUT I WANT TO REMIND FOLKS THAT THE KINDS OF CLUSTERS OF VIRUS SPREAD THAT WE'VE SEEN HAVE OFTEN BEEN IN ATHLETICS AND HAVE STARTED THERE, SO WE ARE CONTINUING TO RECOMMEND LIMITATIONS ON INDOOR SPORTS FOR OUR AMATEUR ATHLETES, COLLEGE AND PROFESSIONAL THEY'RE ABLE TO PUT IN ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS, BUT WE CONTINUE TO SEE VIRAL SPREAD PARTICULARLY IN HIGH SCHOOL INDOOR SPORTS TENDS TO BE WHERE WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IF THERE'S VIRAL SPREAD IN THE SCHOOL, IT STARTS OFTEN WITH THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT.

YOU KNOW THAT MAKES SENSE.

THEY'RE WORKING HARD, THEY'RE CLOSE TOGETHER, THEY'RE INDOORS, AND THAT'S WHERE VIRUS SPREADS.

SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO RECOMMEND YOU KNOW AGAINST DOING THAT BECAUSE WE REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON GETTING KIDS BACK IN THE CLASSROOM AND KEEP VIRUS OUT OF THE SCHOOLS.

>> I KNOW YOU AND THE GOVERNOR HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE SCIENCE AND RESPECT AND APPRECIATE THAT.

SHOULD WE INFER FROM LIST THAT THIS VIRUS IS ON THE WAY DOWN?

THAT WE ARE MOVING BACK TOWARD A NEW NORMAL?

>> WELL, I THINK WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

PART OF THIS IS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD PAST THE HOLIDAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE 3 W'S.

THAT'S CERTAINLY PART OF IT.

SECOND, IS WE'RE GETTING A VACCINE OUT THERE.

WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE THAN WE WERE BACK IN OCTOBER.

NOW OUR TRENDS LOOK LIKE WE WE LIKE THEY WERE IN OCTOBER WHICH I WASN'T HAPPY ABOUT IT, BUT WE'RE BACK THERE WHICH IS GOOD.

BUT REMEMBER 3,000 NEW CASES IN A DAY IS STILL A LOT OF VIRUS HERE, BUT WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT POSITION BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE A VACCINE.

AND THAT'S GREAT.

AND WE'VE GOTTEN OVER 2 MILLION DOSES, I THINK ONE WAS 2.2 MILLION DOSES OF VACCINE IN ARMS, THAT MEANS MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN AT LEAST ONE VACCINE ALREADY IN NORTH CAROLINA.

SO THE COMBINATION OF OUR PREVENTION THE VACCINES.

I THINK PUTS US IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE THE AND EASE RESTRICTIONS.

BUT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE TO FOLKS AGAIN THAT THERE IS A WILD CARD OUT THERE AND IT'S THE CHANGES IN THE VIRUS, THE VARIANTS IN THE VIRUS AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE OF EACH DAY, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MONITOR THAT REALLY CLOSELY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T SEE THAT MORE CONTAGIOUS VIRUS REALLY SPREAD MORE HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA AND THEN CAUSE OR TRENDS TO GO IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.

>> PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING YOU KNOW WHY ARE WE SEEING THESE DROPS AND THEY'VE BEEN SOME EXPLANATIONS, LIKE WE'VE FINALLY GOTTEN OVER THE HOLIDAY, THE PEAKS AND SO FORTH LIKE THAT.

TOM FRIEDEN, THE FORMER HEAD OF THE CDC, SAYS IT'S NOT BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE BEING VACCINATED, IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE WEATHER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

IT'S THAT PEOPLE HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN THE MESSAGE THEY NEED TO WEAR A MASK, THEY NEED TO KEEP PHYSICALLY DISTANT.

WOULD YOU AGREE WITH HIM ON THAT?

>> I DO.

I AGREE WITH TOM AND TOM AND HIS ORGANIZATION RESOLVE HAS DONE SOME REALLY GOOD WORK HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH US, AND I DO AGREE WITH THAT.

I DON'T THINK YET IT IS THE VACCINATIONS AT ALL THAT IS CAUSING THE DECREASE IN OUR TRENDS.

I DO THINK THAT IT IS PROTECTING THOSE WHO ARE 65 AND OLDER WHOM WE'VE BEEN VACCINATING WHICH IS GOOD BUT I OUR EPIDEMIOLOGIST HERE IN THE STATE AGREE WITH DOCTOR FRIEDEN ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS REALLY BEING DRIVEN BY OUR PREVENTION EFFORTS MEANING WEARING MASKS CONSISTENTLY, WHICH IS WHY EVEN AS WE EASE RESTRICTIONS THAT MASK MANDATE FOR NORTH CAROLINA STAYS IN PLACE.

>> YEAH, I THINK THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A LIKELIHOOD THAT LIKE I SAY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO JUST SORT OF RELAX A LITTLE BIT.

BUT THEY GOT TO REMAIN VIGILANT.

NOW.

WE PASSED THE 11,000 MARK IN DEATHS LAST WEEK.

WE SAID THAT 83% OF THESE DEATHS CAME FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE 65 AND OLDER.

MANY OF THEM HAD BEEN HOSPITALIZED PRIOR TO THEIR DEATH.

DOES THE DROP IN THE NUMBER OF NEW CASES SIGNIFY TO YOU THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FEWER HOSPITALIZATIONS AND MAYBE LOWER NUMBERS OF DEATHS GOING FORWARD?

>> WELL THAT IS CERTAINLY THE HOPE.

THAT HASN'T BORNE OUT QUITE YET IN OUR NUMBERS, BUT REMEMBER, WE ARE JUST AT THE BEGINNING OF GETTING FOLKS THEIR SECOND VACCINE.

FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S LOOK AT OUR NURSING HOME WHICH WHERE SOME OF OUR MOST FRAIL FOLKS, IT'S WHERE WE HAD A LOT UNFORTUNATELY OF SEVERE DISEASE AND UNFORTUNATELY DEATH.

THEY JUST HAVE FINISHED GETTING THEIR SECOND VACCINE.

SO I THINK WE'RE JUST STARTING TO SEE THE POSITIVE IMPACTS OF IT, WE'RE SEEING JUST THE START OF THOSE TRENDS THAT YOU'RE STARTING TO TALK ABOUT WITH LOWER DEATH, LOWER HOSPITALIZATION.

BUT I HOPE TO SEE THAT CONTINUE.

UNFORTUNATELY WHEN I LOOKED AT OUR NUMBERS THIS MORNING, WE HAD A 100 DEATHS REPORTED FROM YESTERDAY TO TODAY.

THAT DIDN'T MEAN THEY HAPPENED OVERNIGHT, BUT IT WAS YOU KNOW IT'S OVER THE LAST WEEK OR SO, SO WE'RE - THIS VIRUS IS STILL HERE IT IS STILL UNFORTUNATELY CAN BE DEADLY TO SOME SO THAT'S WHY WE STILL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROTECTING EACH OTHER.

>> SO WE'VE HAD 842,000 CASES THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

PEOPLE WHO'VE ALREADY HAD THIS VIRUS.

WE'VE HAD 200,000 WHO HAVE RECEIVED THEIR SHOTS.

THAT'S ABOUT 10% OF OUR POPULATION.

BUT THE BIG NEWS THIS PAST WEEK OR SO HAS BEEN THE DELAY IN THE SHIPMENT WEATHER-RELATED DELAYS MOSTLY.

WHERE DO WE STAND ON VACCINE DELIVERY?

>> YEAH, IT WAS A BUMPY WEEK LAST WEEK WITH THE WEATHER AND SO YOU KNOW THERE ARE 2 VACCINES WE GET EVERY WEEK, SOME FROM PFIZER AND SOME FROM MODERNA SO LAST WEEK WE DIDN'T GET ANY MODERNA VACCINE AND THAT'S HALF OUR DOSES DID NOT COME AT ALL, AND THEN ONLY SOME OF OUR PFIZER DOSES CAME.

SO THIS WEEK THEY ARE DELIVERING IT.

YESTERDAY, TODAY, THEY'RE DELIVERING LAST WEEK'S AND THEN TODAY, TOMORROW THEY'RE GOING TO DELIVER THIS WEEK'S, SO THIS IS A BIG WEEK FOR OUR VACCINATING PROVIDERS SO THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY DOING 2 WEEKS OF VACCINATING IN ONE WEEK THOUGH WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE MORE GRACE TO GET ALL OF THAT VACCINE OUT, AND REMEMBER WE HAVE A LOT OF SECOND DOSE VACCINES TO GET OUT AS WELL, SO OR VACCINATING PROVIDERS ARE ARE CRANKING THIS WEEK AND WE'RE WORKING HARD WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN HANDLE THE INCREASED DOSES THAT ARE COMING THIS WEEK BECAUSE WE DID GET BEHIND BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER.

>> ACCORDING TO YOUR DEPARTMENT WE'VE HAD 2.3 MILLION DOSES OF VACCINE DELIVERED TO THE STATE SO FAR.

1.9 MILLION HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED THERE WAS A STORY THOUGH ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE WAS SOME 2300 DOSES OF VACCINE THAT HAD TO BE THROWN AWAY.

TALK TO US ABOUT THAT.

THAT'S UPSETTING.

>> WELL FIRST, I WANT TO CORRECT I THINK WE'VE ADMINISTERED ABOUT 2.2 MILLION OF THE 2.3 THAT WE HAVE GOT IN.

SO WE'RE GETTING ALMOST ALL VACCINES IN ARMS WHEN WE GET THEM, AND REMEMBER WE CAN'T SPEED UP THOSE SECOND DOSES.

THE SECOND DOSES COME WHEN THEY COME.

RIGHT?

THEY HAVE TO BE ON A SCHEDULE.

SO OFTEN WE WILL GET THE SECOND DOSES SOONER, WE HAVE TO HOLD ON TO THEM IN ORDER TO GIVE THEM ON THE RIGHT SCHEDULE EITHER 21 DAYS OR 28 DAYS.

SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT.

BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT YES, THERE ARE ABOUT 2000 VACCINES OUT OF THAT 2.3 MILLION.

AGAIN, LESS THAN 0.1% OF ALL OF THE VACCINES THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THEM, EITHER THEY WERE DURING THE SHIPPING, OR WHEN THEY OPEN THE PACKAGE, THINGS FALL ON THE FLOOR LIKE IT HAPPENS.

AND SO WE DO TRY TO CATALOG THAT SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WASTEAGE IS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING ANY PATTERNS IN THAT.

BUT YES WE DID SEE THAT THERE WERE A FEW DOSES THAT WE HAVE WASTED.

OBVIOUSLY OUR GUIDANCE TO ALL OUR VACCINATING PROVIDERS IS PLEASE DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO AVOID WASTE.

THIS IS PRECIOUS WE DO NOT WANT TO WASTE ANY VACCINE HERE, PARTICULARLY IF YOU'RE TAKING IT OUT OF THE FREEZER FOR A BIG EVENT, WE KNOW YOU CAN'T PUT IT BACK IN THE FREEZER SO WE'RE DEFINITELY TELLING FOLKS TO YOU'VE GOT TO GET THOSE VACCINES IN ARMS KEEP WAITLISTS OF PEOPLE WHO WILL YOU KNOW BE ON THE OTHER END OF THE PHONE AND BE WILLING TO COME IN IF YOU HAVE A FEW EXTRA DOSES SO AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE FACT WE'VE ONLY HAD 2000 WASTED LIKE FOLKS ARE DOING A GOOD JOB OF MAKING SURE THEY'RE GETTING VACCINES IN ARMS.

>> SOME EPIDEMIOLOGISTS ARE SAYING THAT BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO'VE ALREADY HAD COVID AND SUPPOSEDLY HAVE SOME IMMUNITY AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO'VE ARE GETTING THE SHOTS, WE MAY BE IN A SITUATION IN WHICH WE CAN GET BACK TO NORMAL SO TO SPEAK.

IN MID APRIL DOCTOR FAUCI SAYS IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE SUMMER.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA?

WHAT'S THE FORECAST?

>> APRIL IS TOO OPTIMISTIC.

THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE POSSIBLE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH VACCINES FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS IT UNTIL THE SUMMER.

SO I THINK IT'S BY THE SUMMER WE WILL SEE MORE SUPPLY OF VACCINE AND THAT ANYONE WHO WANTS A VACCINE WILL BE ABLE TO GET IT, I'M HOPEFUL IN THE SUMMER.

BUT A LOT OF THINGS HAVE TO GO RIGHT TO GET TO THAT POINT I WANT TO REITERATE THE WILD CARD HERE OF THE VARIANTS.

I THINK WE HAVE TO BOTH UNDERSTAND OR THE VARIANTS YOU KNOW SPREADING IN THIS PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE PEOPLE GET VACCINES, BUT ALSO TO JUST TO KNOW FROM SCIENCE.

THOSE VACCINES STILL PROTECTED AGAINST THESE VARIANTS WE ALSO WANT TO UNDERSTAND FOR THOSE WHO'VE HAD COVID BEFORE HOW LONG DOES THEIR IMMUNITY LAST.

WE KNOW YOU GET SOME IMMUNITY TO COVID, BUT AS THE VIRUS CHANGES HOW LONG DOES THAT IMMUNITY LAST?

HOW LONG DO THESE VACCINES -- ARE WE GONNA NEED A BOOSTER SHOT FOR OUR VACCINE?

I THINK THOSE ARE THE THINGS WE WANT TO JUST BE CAUTIOUS OF I DO THINK THAT WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION I DO SEE BUY THE SUMMER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO YOU SOME SEMBLANCE OF OF NORMAL.

BUT THAT'S WHY YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP HEARING ME TALK ABOUT MASKS, EVEN AS WE GET VACCINATED BECAUSE WE JUST HAVE SOME MORE TO LEARN HERE WITH THE SCIENCE AND I JUST WANT FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LEARNING HERE.

BUT THAT'S WHY.

CHECK BACK IN WITH US AS WE LEARN THIS FROM THE SCIENTISTS THAT ARE DOING THE HARD WORK TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT RISKS ARE OUT THERE AS WE CAN WE CAN LET EVERYONE KNOW.

>> WE'VE HEARD SOME CONVERSATION SOME STORIES REPORTED ABOUT HOW THE VACCINES ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED.

SPECIFICALLY, THERE IS SOME CONTROVERSY ABOUT WHETHER MORE POPULOUS COUNTIES ARE GETTING MORE THAN THEIR SHARE OF VACCINE WEATHER ZIP CODES WITH WEALTHIER PEOPLE ARE GETTING MORE VACCINES AND OTHERS, TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

>> YES, SO THE WAY WE HAVE BEEN ALLOCATING VACCINES NOW FOR QUITE SOME TIME IS REALLY BASED ON THE POPULATION IN THE COUNTY.

WE'RE TRYING TO GET VACCINE TO ALL 100 COUNTIES.

WE BASE THAT ALLOCATION ON THE COUNTY POPULATION, SO OBVIOUSLY BIGGER COUNTIES GET MORE SMALLER COUNTIES GET LESS.

BUT IT IS POPULATION BASED.

WE DO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT FOR THOSE WHO ARE SERVING MORE OF OUR HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN, LATIN X, AMERICAN INDIAN POPULATIONS, BUT ESSENTIALLY IT'S POPULATION BASED, AND THEN WE SUPPORT JUST A FEW ADDITIONAL EVENTS OVER AND ABOVE THAT, THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO SOME OF THOSE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, SO WE USE JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF OUR DOSES TO SAY, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME PARTICULAR EVENT TARGETED AT COMMUNITIES THAT ARE UNDERSERVED SO THAT'S HOW WE DO IT.

AND IF YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE DISTRIBUTION ACROSS COUNTIES IT'S PRETTY NARROW.

WE'RE GOT WE'VE GOTTEN PRETTY GOOD, IT'S NEVER PERFECT WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO TWEAK IT HERE, BUT WE'VE GOTTEN PRETTY GOOD AT MAKING SURE EVERYONE IS GETTING THEIR THEIR FAIR SHARE HERE OF VACCINE AND THE HARD PART IS LIKE SUPPLY IS LIMITED AND YOU KNOW THAT TOM.

WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH VACCINES.

OUR VACCINATING PROVIDERS COULD DO MORE VACCINE.

AS I TELL YOU THEY'RE GOING TO DO A DOUBLE WEEK IN ONE WEEK BECAUSE THEY CAN.

THEY CAN DO MORE VACCINE IF WE ONLY HAD THE SUPPLY.

AND I'M EXCITED THAT THE FDA THIS WEEK IS GOING TO BE REVIEWING A 3RD VACCINE.

SO THAT, YOU KNOW ASSUMING THAT THEY APPROVE THE JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE THAT'S GOING TO IMPROVE SUPPLY AS WELL.

SO I'M EXCITED THAT WE'RE HEADING IN THAT RIGHT DIRECTION.

>> LAST TIME WE VISITED YOU TALKED ABOUT THE EFFORTS TRYING TO GET THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND LATIN X COMMUNITIES COVERED WITH VACCINE.

WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 21, 22% OF OUR POPULATION, THEY'D ONLY BEEN LIKE 12% OF PEOPLE WHO'D BEEN VACCINATED.

WHERE DO WE STAND PROGRESS WITH THAT?

>> YEAH, WELL THIS IS ONE PLACE, I'M INCREDIBLY PROUD OF THE WORK WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF WEEKS.

SO THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 15TH, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR DATA, 23% OF VACCINES WENT TO THOSE IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, BUT YOU JUST MENTIONED THERE WERE 21, 22% OF THE POPULATION, THEY GOT 23% OF THE VACCINES FOR WEEK WHICH IS GREAT WE NEED TO KEEP THAT UP, BECAUSE WE DID NOT SEE THAT WEEK OVER WEEK PRIOR.

BUT THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD BE SEEING WEEK-OVER-WEEK OVER WEEK, AND THAT TAKES A LOT OF INTENTIONAL HARD WORK.

AND I WANT TO SAY THAT YOU KNOW, I'M PROUD OF THE TEAM, WE GOT RECOGNIZED AT THE END OF LAST WEEK BY BLOOMBERG NEWS SAYING THAT WE HAD THE BEST RACE AND ETHNICITY DATA TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE OUR DECISION-MAKING AND YOU KNOW WE DON'T JUST COLLECT IT BECAUSE IT'S NICE TO HAVE SO WE CAN GET GET AN AWARD, BUT IT ACTUALLY DRIVES OUR DAY-TO-DAY DECISION-MAKING ON WHERE TO ALLOCATE VACCINE, HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REACHING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

SO THAT DATA IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

SO I WAS PROUD TO GET THAT RECOGNITION FOR THE STATE, AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE A VERY COMPREHENSIVE EQUITY STRATEGY HERE AND I COMMEND OUR VACCINATING PROVIDERS FOR REALLY EMBRACING IT AND DOING -- IT'S HARD IT'S HARD WORK BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO DO THE EXTRA WORK TO GET INTO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

>> OUR LEGISLATURE PASSED A LAW AND WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING SCHOOLS REOPENING TO STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

TEACHERS HAVE BEEN VERY CONCERNED SAYING THAT THEY DON'T REALLY WANT TO GO BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM UNTIL THEY GET THEIR SHOTS, I KNOW WE JUST OPENED UP THE CATEGORY WHERE THEY CAN SHOULD TEACHERS BE MOVED UP TO A HIGHER PRIORITY TO GET THE SHOTS.

>> WELL AS YOU SAID TOM NOW, STARTING TODAY, THEY ARE ABLE TO GET VACCINE, BUT THE ISSUE IS SUPPLY IS INCREDIBLY LIMITED.

AND SO WE KNOW ALL IT'S GOING TO TAKE A NUMBER OF WEEKS TO GET FOLKS VACCINATED BUT WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT LOOKING AT THE DATA AND THE GOVERNOR AND I AS WELL AS THE SUPERINTENDENTS WE LOOK AT THE DATA AND IT SHOWS HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA, THAT IF YOU FOLLOW THE STRICT SAFETY PROTOCOLS THAT NORTH CAROLINA HAS IN PLACE THAT WE BELIEVE THAT KIDS CAN BE BACK IN SCHOOL RIGHT NOW.

I DO NOT THINK VACCINATION IS A PREREQUISITE FOR GETTING BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM, I SAID THAT WEEKS AGO, AND I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS RESPONDING, WE KNOW THAT BY MID-MARCH 96% OF STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BE IN PERSON.

THAT'S PRETTY GOOD.

SO LIKE FOLKS ARE HEEDING THAT CALL THEY'RE DOING THE HARD WORK, WHICH IT IS.

I KNOW THESE PROTOCOLS ARE HARD WITH THE MASKS AND THE SCREENING AND THE DISTANCING AND NOT EATING AT THE CAFETERIA, IT'S ALL HARD AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK OF THE TEACHERS AND THE PRINCIPALS PUTTING ALL THESE PROTOCOLS IN PLACE BUT WITH THE PROTOCOLS BEING IN THE CLASSROOM CAN BE SAFE AND WE WANT TO SEE KIDS BACK IN THE CLASSROOM AND I THINK THE DISTRICTS ARE RESPONDING TO THAT LIKE I SAID 96% OF KIDS ARE GOING TO HAVE IN PERSON OPTIONS BY MID-MARCH.

>> NOT ONLY IS IT IMPORTANT FROM THE LEARNING POINT OF VIEW BECAUSE I THINK MOST PEOPLE WILL SAY THAT FOR A LARGE NUMBER OF THE STUDENTS, THEY'RE NOT LEARNING AT THE SAME WAY THAT THEY WOULD BE OR SAME LEVELS IN CLASS.

BUT IT'S ALSO AN EMOTIONAL STIMULUS TO BE ABLE TO BE BACK IN THE CLASSROOM.

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL ISSUES THAT ARE ARISING BECAUSE OF NOT ONLY BEING OUT OF CLASS BUT THE VIRUS ITSELF.

>> YEAH, WE KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A SUCH A HARD YEAR.

IF WE ADULTS ARE FEELING IT, WE KNOW THAT OUR KIDS ARE FEELING IT TOO.

OUR OUR ROUTINES HAVE BEEN DISRUPTED.

WE HAVE THIS VIRUS THAT CAN IMPACT FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND LIKELY THAT OUR KIDS HAVE SEEN FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS GET ILL, BE IN THE HOSPITAL AND I HOPE, YOU KNOW THEY'VE COME OUT THE OTHER SIDE BUT THAT THEY'VE LIKELY KNOWN SOMEONE WHOM MAY HAVE DIED FROM COVID.

SO IT'S A SCARY TIME AND I DO THINK YOU KNOW BEING ABLE TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT DOING THESE PROTOCOLS PROTECTING EACH OTHER, BUT IT'S STILL BEING OK TO BE BACK IN THE CLASSROOM IS GOOD AND AGAIN THEY THEN THEY GET THE SUPPORT FROM THEIR PEERS AS WELL AS THEIR TEACHERS.

REMEMBER IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL PIECES THAT ARE IMPORTANT BUT IT'S WHERE KIDS GET OFTEN A BREAKFAST AND LUNCH, AND IT'S WHERE OUR TEACHERS CAN SPOT ISSUES WITH DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY AND CONNECT KIDS TO RESOURCES.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS OF IN PERSON LEARNING.

THAT'S WHY THE GOVERNOR HAS MADE IT HIS TOP PRIORITY IN THIS PANDEMIC TO GET KIDS BACK IN THE CLASSROOM AND SO I KNOW THAT WE KNOW HOW TO DO IT SAFELY SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT HAPPENING.

>> YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN SORT OF CHARTING KIND OF THE PATH BECAUSE IT WAS MARCH 4TH OF LAST YEAR IF YOU REMEMBER THAT WE DID OUR VERY FIRST INTERVIEW, AND AT THE TIME I THINK WE HAD 4 CASES IN NORTH CAROLINA.

FOUR CASES.

AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BIG THIS WAS GOING TO BE AND WE'RE NOW AT 11,000 DEATHS AND 800,000 PEOPLE WHO'VE HAD THE VIRUS AND ALL OF THESE NUMBERS.

SO I WANT TO TRY TO PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE.

WE'VE GOT ABOUT 2 MINUTES LEFT IN OUR TIME TOGETHER.

WHERE WE ARE NOW AND HOW YOU SEE US GOING IN THE COMING WEEKS, THIS IS GOOD NEWS UNLIKE SOMETIMES WE'VE MET.

YOU HAD WORRIED LOOKS ALL OVER YOUR FACE.

I SEE A LITTLE RELAXATION NOW.

IS THAT THE TREND?

IS THAT WHAT WE'RE HEADED?

WHAT DO YOU THINK FOR THE NEXT COUPLE, 3 WEEKS?

>> WELL, I CERTAINLY FEEL VERY POSITIVE.

OUR TRENDS ARE HEADING THE RIGHT DIRECTION WE HAVE 2 VACCINES THAT WE'RE GETTING OUT WITH MORE THAN 2, 2.3 MILLION DOSES OUT ALREADY AND A 3RD VACCINE ON THE WAY.

THAT'S TERRIFIC.

HOWEVER I JUST DON'T WANT FOLKS TO COMPLETELY LET DOWN THEIR GUARD AT THIS MOMENT, I THINK WE STILL HAVE A FEW MORE MONTHS OF MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE 3 W'S PROTECTING EACH OTHER.

SO THAT 11,000 NUMBER DOESN'T BECOME 12,000 OR 13,000 IN THIS PERIOD OF TIME.

WHEN YOU SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THAT TUNNEL, YOU'RE STILL IN THE TUNNEL.

[LAUGHTER] PROTECT EACH OTHER AS WE GO YOU SEE THE LIGHT BUT WE'RE STILL IN THE TUNNEL, SO WEAR YOUR MASK, MAKE SURE YOU'RE SOCIAL DISTANCING, YOU KNOW, LOOK WE'RE EASING RESTRICTIONS BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE DON'T DO THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO RISK THEIR OWN HEALTH IN THIS MOMENT, >> CAN'T LET OFF THE GAS NOW.

>> RIGHT.

>> SECRETARY AS ALWAYS YOU ARE VERY GOOD AT HELPING US UNDERSTAND AND EXPLAIN WHAT'S GOING ON AND WE THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING WITH US.

WE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM YOU.

WE WILL BE BACK ON MARCH 10TH WITH ANOTHER INTERVIEW WITH YOU BUT LET'S GIVE OUR VIEWERS A LITTLE BIT OF A TEASE AS TO WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO SEE NEXT WEEK ON COVID UNCOVERED.

>> WE WENT THROUGH MOTHER'S DAY, WENT THROUGH CHRISTMAS, THANKSGIVING, THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THERE'S ONE EMPTY CHAIR.

AND IT REALLY -- IT HITS HOME.

>> IT'S BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE CHRIS HARWOOD LOST HIS MOTHER TO COVID 19.

HOW THE DURHAM MAN IS HONORING HER LIFE AND THE 500,000 OTHER AMERICANS WHO DIED DUE TO COVID-19.

♪