Charlotte COVID trends see improvement. Here are the latest county vaccination rates.
Mecklenburg County’s coronavirus trends, including hospitalizations, saw modest improvements in the past week amid the delta variant surge.
But it is still too early know if Mecklenburg’s progress will continue — and what impact Labor Day gatherings, plus large events like Duke’s Mayo Classic college football games, had on spreading more infections.
Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris told the Observer she wouldn’t be surprised if there is another “blip” in new cases over the next week or so, based on those activities.
Cases could again worsen during fall and winter holidays as people gather indoors, Harris said.
Officials say the average number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 dropped to 437 in the past week, compared to 451 at the start of the month.
Still, the hospitalization census is far higher than volumes recorded earlier this summer. At the start of July, for example, the average number of people hospitalized was 38.
“A lot of our numbers are showing more of our cases involving (the) younger population, and more of our hospitalizations and death involving younger hospitalizations,” Harris said. “The message is get vaccinated.”
Other COVID trends
Mecklenburg’s other coronavirus indicators remain alarmingly high, even with slight decreases in the past week.
▪ The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests declined to 12.3% in the past week, compared to 13.7% two weeks ago. But in mid-July, the county’s positivity rate was below 5%, a key threshold that local officials will partially rely on in deciding whether to loosen the countywide mask mandate.
▪ On average, Mecklenburg is logging 480 new cases each day, a roughly 18% drop over the past 14 days. Yet earlier this summer, the county’s daily caseload fell below 50.
Officials say they are aware of 463 breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated residents between March 22 and Sept. 9. 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.
Mecklenburg’s true breakthrough infection total could be far higher, though. Local health officials are relying on self-reported cases during contact tracing investigations, as they wait to obtain more comprehensive data from the state.
▪ Mecklenburg officials say 19 additional residents died of coronavirus-related complications in the past week. The local death toll reached 1,091 on Friday morning.
Nearly 30% of deaths in the past 14 days involved residents ages 40-59, officials said.
Of the 1,064 coronavirus-related deaths in Mecklenburg through the end of August, 96% occurred in unvaccinated residents, Harris told county commissioners this week. She said 2% of deaths involved fully vaccinated residents and another 2% involved partially vaccinated residents.
Vaccination rates
Mecklenburg officials continue to urge residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The majority of people ages 65 and older are immunized, though eligible younger adults and children lag far behind in getting their shots.
Here are the latest vaccination rates, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
North Carolina
At least partially vaccinated: 55%
Fully vaccinated: 51%
Mecklenburg County
At least partially vaccinated: 58%
Fully vaccinated: 54%
Union County
At least partially vaccinated: 49%
Fully vaccinated: 46%
Union County
At least partially vaccinated: 45%
Fully vaccinated: 42%
Cabarrus County
At least partially vaccinated: 49%
Fully vaccinated: 45%
Iredell County
At least partially vaccinated: 46%
Fully vaccinated: 43%
Lincoln County
At least partially vaccinated: 41%
Fully vaccinated: 39%
Gaston County
At least partially vaccinated: 45%
Fully vaccinated: 40%
Cleveland County
At least partially vaccinated: 44%
Fully vaccinated: 40%
Stanly County
At least partially vaccinated: 39%
Fully vaccinated: 36%
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 11:25 AM.