Dare County has fully vaccinated 15,712 individuals, per Tuesday update

Dare County released the following update for Tuesday, May 4, which provides details on recent Coronavirus cases, vaccine data, and more COVID-19 information.

Dare County COVID-19 Case Update

Last week there were 44 new positive cases reported in Dare County. The total COVID-19 positive case count for Dare County is 3,157, of which there are 21 active cases among residents of Dare County.

Since our last report on 4/27, there have been 41 new COVID-19 cases. Of these 41 new cases:

•  30 (72%) are symptomatic
•  35 (86%) acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual or individuals who were positive for COVID-19.

Contact tracing investigations of new positive cases now also includes assessing vaccination status. In the month of April there were 5 breakthrough cases reported in Dare County. A breakthrough case is where a fully vaccinated individual has a laboratory-confirmed positive COVID diagnostic test. Fully vaccinated means 14 days post receipt of the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or 14 day post receipt of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Information on breakthrough cases can be found on the CDC’s website at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/health-departments/breakthrough-cases.html#:~:text=Establishing%20a%20vaccine%20breakthrough%20case

Of the 5 breakthrough cases in Dare County, 4 of the individuals experienced mild to moderate symptoms and 1 individual was asymptomatic. Three of the symptomatic individuals acquired the virus by direct contact with an unvaccinated individual/individuals. It is unclear how the other 2 individuals acquired the virus. Two of the breakthrough cases received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 1 received the Pfizer vaccine and 2 received the Moderna vaccine.

The virus continues to be predominantly spread by direct contact between family members, co-workers and close friends. We know we can control the spread of the virus by practicing the 3Ws. Please wear a face covering, wait 6 ft apart from others and wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer. In addition to the 3Ws, the most effective tool in controlling the spread of this virus is to get your COVID vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccine

It continues to be easier and quicker than ever to get your COVID-19 vaccine. Any NC resident, property owner or employee working in NC, can simply schedule a vaccine appointment with our department by going online to darenc.com/covidvaccine or by calling the COVID call center at 252-475-5008. You may also contact one of the many area pharmacies which are providing COVID vaccinations including: Walgreens, Sunshine Family Pharmacy, Island Pharmacy, Bear Drugs, and Beach Pharmacy.

Over the past 4 months we have provided 15,876 initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and have fully vaccinated 15,712 individuals. In addition to preventing serious illness and death, getting your COVID-19 vaccine prevents you from being quarantined if you are exposed to a person who tests positive for COVID, as long as you remain symptom free. To date, there have been no reports in Dare County of serious illness or death of anyone who has been fully vaccinated.  Now is a great time to get your vaccine so you can be fully vaccinated before the busy summer season is upon us.

Key Metrics

Each week we review the 4 key metrics associated with disease investigation and surveillance. The metrics are:

• Number of Tests
• Confirmed Cases
• Positive Tests as a Percent of Total Tests
• COVID Like Illness Surveillance

This past week there were 406 COVID-19 diagnostic tests reported in Dare County. This brings the total number of tests performed since early March of last year to 38,382.  There were 44 positive cases between April 26 and May 2. The percent of positive tests to overall tests in Dare County since we started testing in March 2020 increased slightly to 8.21%. The percent of positive tests to total tests for the past week increased to 10.8%. Syndromic surveillance of individuals presenting with COVID like symptoms to the emergency department and urgent care centers continues to show low levels of activity. These graphs can be found on the Dare County website at www.darenc.com/covid19.

Communications and Information Sharing

Dare County DHHS has an established schedule of communication to share information regarding COVID-19. Every Tuesday, a written update and a video update which includes an overview of the previous week’s COVID-19 key metrics is issued. Additional updates will be released as needed. All released videos and written updates can be found on our website, DHHS facebook page, Dare County Twitter page, and Dare Emergency Management Twitter page. If you would like to receive these updates directly to your email, please sign up to receive our enotifications.

New positive cases are updated on the dashboard on our website and shared on the DHHS facebook page when we receive them. To find the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 cases in Dare County visit www.darenc.com/covid19. State COVID-19 data is available at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.

Contact Us

We encourage you to stay informed by visiting www.darenc.com/covid19 or by visiting the CDC or NC DHHS websites. If you have specific needs or questions you may also call the Dare County COVID-19 call center open Monday-Friday from 8:30 to 5:00 at 252-475-5008.