COVID infections remain low among vaccinated residents, new Mecklenburg data show

Mecklenburg County health officials released new data on Friday showing just how effective COVID-19 vaccines are at preventing illness.

Mecklenburg officials say they are aware of just 412 coronavirus cases so far among fully vaccinated residents. The data spans March 22 through Aug. 11, when more than 24,000 cases were logged in Mecklenburg.

The number of breakthrough infections rose by just 36, compared to the county’s initial disclosure of 376 cases among vaccinated residents between March 22 and July 27.

To be considered a breakthrough case, a person must have completed all vaccine doses within at least the last 14 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Aug. 2, the CDC says 7,525 breakthrough cases across the United States led to hospitalization or death

The true number of breakthrough infections could be higher in the Charlotte area, health officials have warned.

That is due to the county health department’s difficulty in accessing more detailed coronavirus data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

For now, Mecklenburg has relied on self-reported accounts of breakthrough cases, based on contact tracing interviews, Deputy Public Health Director Raynard Washington has said. But the available data underscores the vast majority of coronavirus cases are among unvaccinated individuals.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported Friday morning that 54% of Mecklenburg residents are at least partially vaccinated. Statewide, 52% of North Carolinians have gotten at least their first vaccine dose.

Kids contracting COVID

Cases are on the rise among young people in the region, including children.

In Gaston County, about 17% of cases from the start of the month through Aug. 11 are among children. About 200 children who have tested positive in the last 10 days are in isolation, Gaston Public Health Director Steve Eaton said Thursday.

“The real concern is that we have so many more cases right now than we did last August as school was starting back,” Eaton said in a statement.

“We are not aware of any Gaston County children who are hospitalized at this time. Even though the Delta variant is more transmissible, it does not appear to cause more significant illness in children.”

Children under age 12 are not yet eligible to get immunized. Just 41% of Gaston County residents are at least partially vaccinated, according to N.C. DHHS.

Mecklenburg officials said about 70% of its cases over the last two weeks were among residents under age 40. That includes 9.6% of cases among children under age 9, 6.1% of cases among children ages 10-14 and 4.4% of cases among children 15-17.

And just over two-thirds of the latest Mecklenburg infections involved people ages 25-39, health officials said.

Mecklenburg COVID trends

In Mecklenburg, all coronavirus trends are rapidly worsening.

On Monday, the county’s COVID-19 policy group will review the data and potentially explore coronavirus restrictions, including whether to recommend officials reinstate a mask mandate.

Masks are now required in city-owned buildings, including the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. The announcement Thursday came nearly two weeks after Mecklenburg required county government employees to wear masks inside.

Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics.

▪ Mecklenburg’s daily coronavirus caseload exceeded 600 over three consecutive days this week, according to N.C. DHHS. On average, Mecklenburg is seeing 576 new cases each day, an 86% increase over the last 14 days, according to an Observer analysis.

▪ Six more residents died of coronavirus-related complications this week. The local death toll is now 1,006, Mecklenburg officials said.

▪ The rate of positive COVID-19 tests rose to 13% in the past week, Mecklenburg officials said. That compares to a positivity rate of 10.8% two weeks ago and 4.6% one month ago. The positivity rate hasn’t been this high since mid-January, during a holiday-induced surge.

▪ The average number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 hit 260 in the past week, a 105% increase over the last 14 days.

But the daily hospital census exceeded 300 on Tuesday and climbed to 321 on Wednesday, the most recent date that information is available. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 surpassed 200 just last week. In late June, hospitalizations had dropped below 40.

This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 1:57 PM.