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N.C. COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations Spike For Unvaccinated People

AP PHOTO/TED S. WARREN

North Carolina is experiencing a rapid increase in COVID-19 spread among unvaccinated people.

After months of seeing declining numbers, North Carolina has seen an uptick in COVID-19 spread, with a nearly 66 percent increase in cases reported last week. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says in a news release that hospitalizations have doubled since July 9 and are at the highest rate since mid-May.

Some other key metrics are also going in the wrong direction, with more counties experiencing substantial community spread, and emergency departments seeing more people with COVID-like symptoms, along with a spike in the percent of tests that are positive.

According to NCDHHS, more than 94 percent of recent North Carolina cases are in people who were not fully vaccinated.

Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement that “unvaccinated North Carolinians are unnecessarily getting sick, being hospitalized and dying.” NCDHHS is urging everyone 12 and older to get their shot, and Cohen reminded unvaccinated people that they need to wear a mask indoors in public spaces.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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