Cooper urges boosters, plans NC worker mandate extension as COVID metrics surge

RALEIGH, N.C. — With COVID-19-related hospitalizations surging amid the spread of the extremely contagious omicron variant, Gov. Roy Cooper urged North Carolina residents on Tuesday to get up to date on vaccinations for protection against the virus.

He was joined by the state’s newest health secretary, Kody Kinsley, who is taking over from Dr. Mandy Cohen.

The latest state health data showed the number of patients with COVID-19 in North Carolina’s hospitals exceeded 3,000 on Monday — a more than 50% increase compared to a week earlier. Just over 600 of those patients were in intensive care units, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The number and percentage of positive tests for COVID-19 and testing totals also have soared in recent weeks, the result of the omicron variant and residents seeking to obtain results before or after holiday visits with family and friends. One-day increases in the number of positive cases recorded by the state broke records three times last week, reaching 19,620 on Saturday. The percentage of positive tests received from laboratory results in the state neared 30% on Monday.

Over 80% of the state’s positive tests are now forecast as attributed to the omicron variant, new Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley said at the state COVID-19 news conference.

More than 87% of the ICU patients are unvaccinated for the coronavirus, Kinsley said, reinforcing the need for residents to get vaccinated and ultimately boosted. Boosters have been found to increase immunity and reduce the risks of getting severely sick or dying from omicron compared to no vaccine, Kinsley added: “Vaccines are our way out of this.”

Cooper said he would extend later this week an executive order taking effect in September -- Executive Order 224 -- required state employees in Cabinet agencies to be fully vaccinated or tested regularly, or risk losing their jobs. The updated order would allow the Office of State Human Resources to include a booster shot in the definition of “fully vaccinated” once the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include boosters in its definition, Cooper said.

“We’ll keep our foot on the gas when it comes to getting more shots and more boosters administered,” Cooper said. “This virus and its variants will continue to be with us for a while, but we’re getting better and better at dealing and living with it.”

Cooper urged everyone who has not already been vaccinated. to get the vaccine and the booster. He said most people in the ICU were unvaccinated.

Local health care systems said they’re starting to get concerned about hospital capacity.

Atrium Health said about 90 to 95% of patients are unvaccinated or don’t have a booster shot. They’re having to balance the surge in patients and their own employees getting sick.

Officials at Novant and Atrium said they are trying to increase testing, but it’s tough to keep up. Novant testing sites will return to operating seven days a week.

“You know, testing is tight no matter where you look across the country. Here in Charlotte, certainly as well, all types of testing platforms, and is going to continue to be challenging on the testing front,” said Dr. Katie Passaretti with Atrium Health.

Early studies have shown that boosters increase someone’s immune response and give more protection against the omicron variant than no vaccine.

“For people who have been vaccinated and especially for those who have gotten boosters, the new Omicron variant has been less severe than previous surges,” Cooper said. “With these vaccines and boosters we have an amazing tool to save people’s lives and beat this pandemic – and we’ll keep our foot on the gas when it comes to getting more shots and more boosters administered.”

Health leaders also advised people to continue to wear a mask to help stop the spread of the virus.

“Testing and wearing a mask are essential tools in slowing the spread of COVID-19,” Kinsley said. “But the bottom line is that vaccines and boosters are the number one thing you can do to protect your health.”

As of Tuesday, North Carolina has administered over 14.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 69 percent of the adult population fully vaccinated.

Just before Christmas, Cooper said he and state health leaders anticipated that the omicron variant would soon severely strain hospitals, become the dominant variant and lead to the highest daily case counts since the pandemic first hit the state in March 2020.

In Washington, President Joe Biden gave an update from the White House COVID Response Team on Tuesday. He commented on the surge in positive cases, and echoed that more people who are vaccinated are having breakthrough cases.

At Tuesday’s news conference, Cooper also gave his condolences to the loved ones of State Highway Patrol Trooper John Horton and Dusty Luke Beck, who were both killed in a crash in Rutherford County Monday night.

Cooper also addressed the winter storm that moved across North Carolina Monday morning. He said statewide, 19,259 utility customers are still without power, which is down from about 197,000 customers who were impacted Monday morning.

He advised drivers to be cautious in areas where freezing temperatures and black ice are predicted Tuesday night.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this story.

(WATCH BELOW: Medical experts advise use of masks with higher level of protection against COVID-19)

Medical experts advise use of masks with higher level of protection against COVID-19

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