Mecklenburg adds 332 COVID-19 cases; Charlotte medical practice will join vaccine trial
Mecklenburg County has seen a total of 17,379 coronavirus cases, according to state health data released Sunday, an increase of 332 from the previous day.
The percent of positive tests in Mecklenburg County has been stable, at or near 11.3%, for the last three weeks, according to an Observer analysis of publicly-available health data. Hospitals and other health care providers are performing an average of 3,622 tests per day in Mecklenburg so far in July, county data show. That’s compared to a daily testing average of 2,924 in the month of June and 1,558 in May.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, Mecklenburg ranked 37th in the country on a list of the top 50 confirmed cases by county as of Saturday.
Mecklenburg County saw its highest daily increase in COVID-19 cases on July 11, when 450 new cases were reported, the Observer previously reported.
Health officials say 177 people with COVID-19 have died locally. No new deaths were reported Saturday or early Sunday. About half of those who died were people connected to nursing homes or long-term care facilities, according to the health department.
Statewide, 99,778 people have tested positive for COVID-19, according to state figures Sunday. Overnight, five more deaths were reported, for a statewide total of 1,634 since March.
North Carolina on Saturday posted a single-day record of new cases, with more than 2,400; it was among five states that reported new single-day case records on Saturday (the others were Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin, according to The Washington Post).
Meanwhile, Tryon Medical Partners in Charlotte announced this week that it will participate in the Phase 3 trial of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by the federal government and Moderna.
The candidate vaccine appears to safely trigger an immune response, according to data from an early phase trial led by Anthony Fauci’s Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health — although it is unclear whether that response is enough to defend against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, experts have said.
The trial will take place at Tryon Medical’s SouthPark location (6060 Piedmont Row Drive South) and could begin screening participants by the end of the month. Those interested can call 704-586-9386 for more information about applying for enrollment.
Tryon Medical’s website said it plans to enroll at least 350 people and eligibility is not limited to existing Tryon patients.
Mecklenburg COVID-19 update
As of July 15 — the last date demographic data was publicly available — county coronavirus data show:
▪ During the past week, an average of 178 individuals with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infections were hospitalized at acute care facilities in Mecklenburg County. Health officials say this trend has been stable over the past two weeks. However, the number of people needing hospital-level care with COVID-19 has been steadily increasing locally since May and peaked on in early July with more than 180 patients per day.
▪An average 11.3% of individuals who were tested were positive for COVID-19 during the past week. Mecklenburg County Public Health says this represents a “stable trend.” The data only include tests conducted by Atrium Health, Novant Health and CVS Health.
▪ Most people — about 60% of more than 15,600 cases — were adults under the age of 40. People older than 60 account for less than 12% of all cases reported but more than 85% of all deaths.
▪ After symptoms of coronavirus subside, a person diagnosed may be “released” from isolation under CDC guidelines. In Mecklenburg, nearly half of the people who tested positive have met the criteria to end isolation, according to local health officials.
▪ About 1 in 20 people diagnosed were hospitalized due to their COVID-19 infection. People age 60 or older were more likely to need hospital care compared to younger people with coronavirus.
▪ Just more than half of those people who have died from COVID-19 locally were connected to “active outbreaks” in long-term care facilities or nursing homes. Still, two of the 169 deaths recorded as of July 15 were among people who had no known underlying conditions. Twenty-two of the people who died were between the ages of 40 to 59, and one person was under the age of 40.
This story was originally published July 19, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
