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NC health leaders gear up to provide COVID-19 vaccine to younger kids

NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen presents COVID-19 vaccination data during a media briefing on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. Screenshot: KERI BROWN/WFDD.

North Carolina health officials are preparing to receive shipments of vaccinations for children between the ages of 5 and 11. 

Governor Roy Cooper and State Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen discussed those plans during a coronavirus task force update on Wednesday.

North Carolina's COVID-19 cases are trending downward. State health officials say hospitalizations and those needing intensive treatment for the virus have also decreased over the past several weeks.

State leaders say the focus will remain on vaccinations. As of Wednesday, 64% of North Carolinians ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated.

Earlier this week, an independent advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in children 5 to 11 years old.  If it's approved by federal regulators, the shots could be available in early November.

Cohen says there will be plenty of supply available at several locations across the state.

“We have about 750 locations, in which we think vaccine for our 5 through 11-year-olds will be available," she says. "We are going to have about 400,000 doses in the state that we think by the end of next week.”

As for mask-wearing in schools, Cohen says that should continue for now.

The state is still recommending that all schools require them indoors. According to CDC data, virus transmission in most North Carolina counties is currently in the red zone, the highest level.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

 

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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