As bowl year proceeds on, several of the higher profile teams in college soccer will do struggle in some big matchups.
Wednesday options many distinguished names, which include three teams that have played in the College or university Soccer Playoff. 1st, it will be a matchup of Maryland vs. Virginia Tech in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Then, Clemson will perform its initially non-CFP bowl video game since the 2014 year when it performs Iowa Condition in the Cheez-It Bowl.
The night ends with a matchup of two groups that identified them selves actively playing for CFP spots late in the year with Pac-12 runner-up Oregon having on Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Intrigued in catching Wednesday’s bowl game action? Sporting Information has you coated with everything you have to have to know to tune in.
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has experienced a big season, passing for the 12th-most passing yards among FBS players at 3,595 with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. With the sophomore sign-caller at the helm, the Terrapins have averaged the 33rd-most yards for every video game at 437.8. He’ll run into a hard Hokies’ protection that has permitted the 53rd-fewest passing yards per match among the FBS defenses at just 219.9 for every video game.
BENDER: Picks, predictions for all bowl video games in 2021-22
Clemson vs. Iowa State
It hasn’t been the period Tigers’ admirers have been accustomed to in modern decades, and the offseason has continued Clemson’s woes as each offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and defensive coordinator Brent Venables have remaining for head coaching positions. Nevertheless, the Tigers continue to seem to close out the year potent in the Cheez-It Bowl from Iowa State. Clemson authorized the ninth-fewest yards for each match at 308.4 and next-fewest factors for every recreation at 15.. The Tigers will be challenged on Wednesday, even so, from Iowa Point out functioning again Breece Hall, who has the sixth-most dashing yards per sport at 122.7 with 20 hurrying touchdowns.
A lot more: Up to date record of 2021-22 bowl cancellations
Oregon vs. Oklahoma
Each Oregon and Oklahoma head into this bowl sport with different head coaches than the types who started the year. Mario Cristobal is off to Miami, even though Lincoln Riley is headed west to USC. This ought to continue to be one of the highlights of bowl season, as the Sooners boast the No. 10 scoring offense in the nation (38.4 points for every video game) driving standout freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, who has passed for 1,670 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions since taking over for Spencer Rattler. The Ducks rank 25th in hurrying offense at 203.2 yards per activity, with jogging back again Travis Dye obtaining racked up 1,118 yards on 193 carries with 15 touchdowns.
How to enjoy, dwell stream higher education soccer games
Each and every of the bowl game titles will be broadcast on countrywide television, with all the games scheduled to be carried by ESPN. Fans can stream the online games on fuboTV or on WatchESPN.
The initial slate of bowl online games are in the reserve, and numerous teams manufactured record in the method.
In the Cure Bowl, Coastal Carolina gained its first ever bowl activity in plan heritage. Meanwhile, the Boca Raton Bowl observed Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe set the NCAA one-time Division I information for both equally passing yards and touchdowns. UAB pulled off a person of its greatest wins in system record in the Independence bowl, knocking off No. 13 BYU 31-28 although Fresno Condition received 10 games for the very first time due to the fact 2018.
BENDER: Picks, predictions for all bowl video games in 2021-22
That was all just In one particular weekend. As bowl season progresses, additional documents may well tumble and extra coaches could be on the go. Bowl year also suggests fantastic uniform matchups, and special celebrations that contain dumping matters other than Gatorade on coaches.
The College or university Football Playoff won’t be contested until the end of December and early January in the meantime, you can get your college soccer take care of with dozens of other bowls, including through Xmas year, when the bowl slate is a little bit lighter, but nonetheless may possibly supply some interesting matchups.
This bowl video game was canceled just after Hawai’i withdrew from its very own bowl recreation thanks to amid other matters, COVID considerations in its system. Hawai’i gets the second staff to withdraw from a bowl amid COVID worries, becoming a member of Texas A&M, who pulled out of the Gator Bowl and was changed by Rutgers.
Extra: Full record of players skipping bowl games to prepare for 2022 NFL Draft
Ga Condition is bowl suitable for the 3rd straight year, but necessary a late push to get there. The Panthers concluded the time profitable five of their final 6 online games, which includes a substantial upset in excess of perennial power Coastal Carolina. Shawn Elliott’s squad has one particular of the ideal ground game titles in the place, ranking No. 8 in hurrying offense. Georgia Condition is heading up a Ball Condition squad that gained the MAC meeting title past 12 months. The Cardinals concluded 6-6 this time, with their finest acquire coming from Military, and currently rank top-10 in turnover margin nationally.
Western Michigan completed very last in the hyper-competitive MAC West at 4-4. The Broncos’ greatest acquire of the year was versus latest No. 12 Pitt, who they defeat 44-41 in Pittsburgh. There are two factors Tim Lester’s squad does extremely very well — will get teams off the field on third down (fourth nationally in 3rd down protection) and retains them off the area (third nationally in time of possession). Nevada, in the meantime, potential customers the country in turnover margin and is sixth in sacks, coming off an 8-4 year. Most notably, however, the Wolf Pack ranked fourth in the nation in passing offense thanks to Carson Solid, who’s led the Mountain West in passing yards, touchdowns and completions every single of the last two seasons.
Boston Faculty vs. East Carolina
Boston College has continually been a .500 team given that 2013, but are heading to their 2nd straight bowl activity less than Jeff Hafley. The Eagles bought dealt a major blow when star quarterback Phil Jurkovec harm his wrist in opposition to UMass, but he eventually returned late in the year. BC has the fourth-ideal move protection in the place, which as been a huge essential to their results. East Carolina is bowl eligible for the initial time because 2014 following ending the calendar year 7-5. The rank best-15 in third down protection and have a top rated-25 pasing assault, pitting their toughness versus Boston College’s.
How to observe, are living stream faculty football games
The initially slate of bowl online games will be broadcast are living on countrywide Television, with games showing up on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Live streaming solutions include things like WatchESPN or Sling Tv.
Pipes certain for a normal gasoline pipeline in Germany. It is really not likely that the big Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany will open up this winter and provide relief.Credit…Jens Buettner/DPA, by way of Connected Push
Europe’s electricity crunch exhibits minimal signal of easing. Pure gas marketplaces, the root of the problem, keep on being on edge because provides are tight, and traders question irrespective of whether the continent has adequate of the gas stored to very last a cold wintertime without the need of disruption.
The buildup of Russian troops on the border of Ukraine, via which Russian gas flows to the West, also has added to concerns about no matter whether gasoline will run out. Previously, reduced volumes of gasoline from Russia, Europe’s principal resource of imports of the gasoline, have helped raise prices in latest months.
“There is a possibility of supply shortages that could erode economic advancement and cause community discord,” reported Henning Gloystein, a director for strength and climate at Eurasia Team, a political risk business, adding that blackouts are attainable in a worst-scenario scenario. Mr. Gloystein claimed that must the situation worsen, governments could possibly purchase factories reduce their gasoline use to be certain that homes have enough to retain warm.
On Tuesday, fuel on the TTF trading hub in the Netherlands strike a file degree of about $60 for every million British thermal units on stories that flows in a pipeline that can take Russian gasoline to Germany were currently being switched back toward the East. (European gas selling prices have doubled this month and are approximately 15 instances what gas is promoting for in the United States.)
Mr. Gloystein claimed this transform of route might replicate opportunistic investing exercise relatively than sinister maneuvering by Moscow, but the fact stays that pure fuel marketplaces in Europe are all set to soar at the slightest provocation.
Tensions amongst Russia and the West about Ukraine make it extremely not likely that the giant Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany will open up anytime shortly and deliver aid.
On a connect with with reporters on Tuesday, Karen Donfried, the assistant secretary of point out for European and Eurasian affairs, mentioned Washington regarded as Nord Stream 2 “a Russian geopolitical job that undermines the vitality protection and the countrywide safety of a major component of the Euro-Atlantic local community.”
Ms. Donfried claimed the United States was operating closely with the new German govt to improve Europe’s strength security. Attracted by substantial rates, vitality companies are instructing ships carrying liquefied normal gasoline to alter their destinations from Asia to Europe, but even that switching may well not be ample to switch Russian gas or substantially ease the crunch.
“The marketplace is familiar with there is additional L.N.G. coming,” reported Laura Page, an analyst at Kpler, a investigation firm. “But it does not look to be having any influence on sentiment.”
Due to the fact fuel is a important gas for generating energy, electric powered electricity prices also are soaring throughout Europe. In Britain, for instance, continual electrical power was trading on Tuesday for about 340 kilos, about $450, per megawatt-hour, a wholesale metric, on the Epex Location exchange. That’s about a few instances the ordinary cost of energy above the calendar year.
The large gas rates of latest months will sooner or later direct to rises in energy charges for households in Britain and other international locations. Martin Youthful, an analyst at Investec, a securities organization, forecast in a new notice to clientele that British customers, who have been guarded by value ceilings, could see their electrical power costs rise more than 50 per cent when adjustments are declared early up coming 12 months.
In recent times, the closure of 3 French nuclear vegetation to look at for faults has even further stoked the power current market.
“It’s getting to be the new usual for this wintertime,” Mark Devine, a trader at Sembcorp, an vitality agency, said of the elevated charges.
The message was dire from Gov. Roy Cooper and Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
“Get boosted,” they repeatedly told North Carolinians on Monday during a briefing with reporters broadcast on PBS North Carolina.
In anticipation of a tremendous surge in COVID-19 cases in early January as the Omicron variant looms large on the horizon, Cohen returned to the Emergency Operations Center podium with a sense of urgency in her last days on the job.
Just a week earlier, Cohen told North Carolinians that she thought her update on the state’s COVID trends, metrics and data would be her final press conference. At the end of the month, she plans to resign from her job and turn over leadership of the state’s pandemic response to Kody Kinsley, the chief deputy secretary at DHHS tapped by Cooper to lead the department as the next secretary of health.
“We thought last week might be your last time at the podium, but this pandemic continues to throw us curveballs,” Cooper told Cohen on Monday after she laid out what she wants North Carolinians to do immediately before Omicron becomes as prevalent here as it is in New York and other parts of the world.
Cohen issued a secretarial advisory on Monday urging all this winter and holiday season to get vaccinated, boosted and tested, and mask up in public places.
COVID cases are on the rise, and North Carolina health care systems are starting to show strain as influenza circulates and the Delta and Omicron variants pose threats.
Cohen and Kinsley said they expected to see record numbers of cases in the peak of the expected Omicron surge. Though Cohen was reluctant to put a specific number on what that record might be, she estimated that it could be as high as 10,000 cases a day. She also declined to speculate what peak hospitalization might look like as a result of the Omicron wave.
North Carolina reported 10,541 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID since Friday, Cooper said. There were 1,630 people hospitalized with severe illness related to COVID, 437 of whom were in intensive care unit beds.
Three days ago, New York reported its highest number of daily COVID cases since the start of the pandemic. North Carolina public health officials are preparing for a similar trend to take hold here in the weeks ahead.
“I have two messages for North Carolinians today,” Cohen said with a more urgent tone in her voice than typical at press briefings. “First, the newest variant of COVID-19, Omicron, is the most contagious we’ve seen yet and will likely set record-high, daily case numbers in the coming weeks. Second, and most importantly. You can act now to best protect yourself and family and friends.”
People who received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago are eligible for a booster and should get one as soon as possible. Those who received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible for a booster two months after receiving their shot. They can also get a Pfizer or Moderna shot to boost their immunity.
‘Do not wait’
The Omicron variant, which has been detected in “most” hospital labs across the state, according to Cohen, is two to three times as contagious as the Delta variant, currently the dominant variant in North Carolina.
“Fortunately, early evidence suggests that illness from the Omicron variant may be less severe,” Cohen said. “However, it still can pose a danger for people who are not vaccinated, and particularly those who are at higher risk of severe disease.”
During the week ending Dec. 11, Omicron accounted for 12.9 percent of all cases in the U.S. and 37 percent of cases in the Southeast. By the conclusion of the week ending Dec. 18, updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Omicron was accounting for 73.2 percent of all cases in the U.S. and 95.2 percent of all cases in the Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee).
Instead of throwing hands up in the air, frustrated that the Omicron variant has shown the strength and adaptability of the coronavirus that has disrupted life for 22 months during the pandemic, Cohen urged North Carolinians to take action.
Public health officials in this country, though, say Omicron is too new to the states to predict whether that will remain the case in the weeks ahead.
As health care systems prepare to treat anyone sickened by the Omicron variant, drugs they’ve used in recent months to help stave off severe illness from the previous variants are not likely to offer much help.
New drugs are being developed, but they might not be readily available if an Omicron surge comes as expected in the weeks ahead.
Cohen was asked whether the record number of cases that she expected in North Carolina starting in early January would also mean a record number of hospitalizations.
“I do not yet know what that will translate into in terms of hospitalizations,” Cohen responded. “What we are seeing with Omicron is, it does seem to be less severe. What we don’t know yet is how it’s going to behave here in the United States. With the level of vaccinations that we’ve had, with the kinds of vaccination that we’ve seen before, I don’t know what that will mean. We are certainly planning to see additional strain on our hospitals. That’s why we are working with our hospitals to be ready, and the more we can act right now, that’s what will protect folks.”
“Right now,” though, is four days before Christmas Eve, when many families plan to gather to celebrate the holiday together after being forced to spend it apart in 2020 because of COVID. Some families are reconsidering how they might celebrate the holidays ahead, while others have opted to gather despite the variant.
“I know people are frustrated and dismayed by this wave of infection right here at Christmas, but it’s important to remember how far we have come in our fight against this disease,” Cooper said. “We know what works. Vaccines, boosters, testing and masks when needed. With every dose, we’re getting closer to turning the tide on this sickness and death brought on by the pandemic.”
Cooper said his family is vaccinated and boosted. They plan to get tested, “then gather for food, prayer, presents and hugs and time with each other.”
Testing in the spotlight again
Kinsley outlined what the state has done in anticipation of Omicron. They have gotten boosters to state-run nursing homes and worked with hospitals to build systems to support them as weary workers and understaffed nursing teams add an even thornier layer for health care systems.
At-home COVID-19 tests. Photo credit: Rose Hoban
Kinsley also said the state is looking ahead to make sure that enough testing supplies are available during the expected surge. Testing for COVID will be a crucial element in schools, businesses and other places.
During the high-water mark of the Delta surge, which occurred in the late summer, North Carolina saw as many as 86,000 tests administered some days.
With public health leaders advising people who plan to gather for the holidays to get tested in advance, a spotlight has been cast again on whether tests are as easy to find as they should be.
Many pharmacies have empty shelves where rapid at-home antigen tests once were stocked. Even if the shelves were stocked, at nearly $25 a box for some brands with only two tests included, the cost of home testing can add up quickly.
“Over the last several weeks we’ve pushed out several hundreds of thousands of tests, rapid tests, to our local health departments to make them available in local communities,” Kinsley said. “Of course we have statewide testing vendors that are providing testing in schools.”
19,167 people total in North Carolina have died of coronavirus.
1,599,595 have been diagnosed with the disease. Of those, 1,630 are in the hospital. The hospitalization figure is a snapshot of people hospitalized with COVID-19 infections on a given day and does not represent all of the North Carolinians who may have been in the hospital throughout the course of the epidemic.
As of Tuesday, 437 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units across the state.
North Carolina tracked COVID-19 re-infections in the case counts from March 1, 2021 through Sept. 20, 2021. All told, North Carolina tracked 10,812 reinfections, 200 of those were in people who were previously vaccinated. Ninety-four people who were reinfected with COVID-19 have died.
1,538,231 people who had COVID-19 are presumed to have recovered. This weekly estimate does not denote how many of the diagnosed cases in the state are still infectious. Nor does it reflect the number of so-called “long-COVID” survivors who continue to feel the effects of the disease beyond the defined “recovery” period.
To date, 21,190,766 tests have been completed in North Carolina. As of July 2020, all labs in the state are required to report both their positive and negative test results to the lab, so that figure includes all of the COVID-19 tests performed in the state. Most recently, 9.3 percent of those testing were testing positive.
People ages 25-49 make up the largest group of cases (39 percent). While 12 percent of the positive diagnoses were in people ages 65 and older, seniors make up 74 percent of coronavirus deaths in the state.
263 outbreaks are ongoing in group facilities across the state, including nursing homes and correctional and residential care facilities.
As of Dec. 20, 6,539,752 North Carolinians have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Ninety-one percent of people over the age of 65 have been completely vaccinated, while 58 percent of the total population is fully vaccinated. 2,184,783 boosters have been administered.
Children between the ages of 5 and 11 became eligible for vaccination during November. A total of 161,410 first doses have been given to those children, a total of 18 percent of that population.
This story has been updated with new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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by Anne Blythe, North Carolina Health News December 20, 2021
The college football postseason is officially upon us.
A record 84 teams were bowl-eligible this season, and thanks to the creation of the Frisco Classic they’re all postseason-bound. This is the first time every team that finished 6-6 or better is in a bowl. The 2021-22 bowl season is historic for other reasons as well. Cincinnati became the first Group of 5 school to make the College Football Playoff while Michigan will be making its first appearance in the CFP.
MORE: Full list of players skipping bowl games to prepare for 2022 NFL Draft
Bowl season will also be a chance for some of the nation’s top overlooked players, such as Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe, to finally gain exposure and national prominence. With big-name players such as Kenny Pickett and Kenneth Walker opting out of New Year’s Six bowls, more emphasis will be placed on smaller bowls as they’ve become more compelling matchups.
BENDER: Picks, predictions for all bowl games in 2021-22
Beyond that, winning seasons are on the line, NCAA records on the line and reversals of fortune are at stake.
The College Football Playoff won’t be contested until the end of December and early January; in the meantime, you can get your college football fix with dozens of other bowls, starting this weekend.
This is the second appearance in the Bahamas Bowl for both squads in the seven editions of the game. Middle Tennessee is coming off a 6-6 regular season without a signature win, but it is playing in its first bowl game since 2018. The Blue Raiders’ six defensive touchdowns lead the nation. Toledo went 7-5, with four of the losses coming by three points or fewer and all to bowl-eligible teams, including to then-No. 8 Notre Dame. The Rockets have won four of their last five and three in a row heading into the game. They have committed just six turnovers all season.
Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina
Northern Illinois has one of the best stories in college football this year. The Huskies went from 0-6 last season to 9-4 and a MAC conference title this season. They’re led by alum Thomas Hammock and propelled by one of the nation’s top running games, which averaged 234.2 yards per game and more than 5 yards per carry, good for fifth in the nation. The Chanticleers, who were ranked for much of the season, finished 10-2 after close losses to Georgia State and Appalachian State. The Chants are one of the nation’s most prolific offensive teams; they’re sixth in the nation in scoring offense and seventh in total offense.
Western Kentucky probably has the two best players in the country you’ve never heard of. Quarterback QB Bailey Zappe is four touchdowns away from breaking Joe Burrow’s single-season mark; he conveniently averages four passing touchdowns per game. Most of his passes are to wide receiver Jerreth Sterns, the nation’s second-best pass catcher. App State is coming off an appearance in the Sun Belt title game, where it lost to Louisiana for the second time this season. The Mountaineers do have a ranked win; they upset then-No. 14 Coastal Carolina.
UTEP vs. Fresno State
UTEP is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2014 thanks to a turnaround orchestrated by coach Dana Dimel. The Miners started 6-1 but finished 1-4. One thing they have going for them is that they’re one of the top teams in the country at defending on third down, ranking ninth. Fresno State got a major boost when quarterback Jake Haener, one of the top passers in the Mountain West, withdrew from the transfer portal and returned to the Bulldogs. It also got Jeff Tedford to return as head coach, giving it a superb offensive mind at the helm. The Bulldogs have the ninth-best passing attack in the nation and rank in the top 20 in several other key offensive categories.
UAB vs. No. 13 BYU
The Blazers have been bowl-eligible every year since returning to the FBS from a two-year hiatus in 2017. This year, they finished 8-4, the fourth time in five years coach Bill Clark has reached the eight-win milestone. A win Saturday would be their first in a bowl since 2018. BYU had one of the best seasons with seemingly one of the least just outcomes. The Cougars went 10-2 with two separate five-game winning streaks. They beat five Pac-12 teams, including ranked Utah and Arizona State. Kalani Sitake’s squad probably would have had a compelling case for a New Year’s Six bowl had it been ranked a spot or two higher, which it seemingly should have been.
Eastern Michigan vs. Liberty
One of the more surprising teams in the MAC this year, the 7-5 Eagles are going bowling for the third time in four years. Chris Creighton’s squad was the most disciplined in the nation, with the fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards. That could be the key to Eastern Michigan reaching eight wins, something the program last did in 1987. Liberty boasts one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Mailk Willis, who is widely projected to be a first-round NFL Draft pick, but defense has been the Flames’ calling card this year. They rank 11th in the nation in total defense and in the top 20 in sacks. Liberty is a year removed from the best season in program history. It will move from independent to Conference USA in 2023.
Utah State vs. Oregon State
Another team with a great story is Utah State and its coach, Blake Anderson. Anderson built Arkansas State into a Sun Belt power before stepping down following the death of his wife. In his first season in Logan, the Aggies went 10-3 and won the Mountain West title while ranking in the top 20 in total offense and registering the third-most tackles for loss in the nation. Oregon State enjoyed a renaissance at 7-5, the Beavers’ first winning season since 2013 when Mike Riley was the coach. The Beavers went 5-4 in Pac-12 play while having the nation’s 12th-best ground game and ranking sixth in third-down conversion percentage.
No. 23 Louisiana vs. Marshall
The Ragin’ Cajuns have been one of, if not the top power in the Sun Belt for the past several years. They easily won the conference title this year and are ranked inside the top 25 for the second year in a row. Their efforts under Billy Napier impressed a lot of people, including a few at Florida. Last month, Napier left Lafayette to take the UF job. Louisiana ranked No. 11 nationally in scoring defense and had the second-best turnover margin. Marshall, led by first-year coach Charles Huff, went 5-3 in C-USA play and 7-5 overall. The Thundering Herd had the ninth-best red zone defense and the 12th-most sacks to go with the 10th-highest total offense in the country and a 34 points-per-game scoring average. They will be seeking their first bowl win since 2018.
How to watch, live stream college football games
The first slate of bowl games will be broadcast live on national TV, with games appearing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Live streaming options include WatchESPN or fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial.
On the anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine arriving in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper and his top public health official, Mandy Cohen, took a look back on the coronavirus pandemic with a nod to the future that will place a new secretary of health and human services in the lead role.
After more than 22 months of speaking to North Carolinians and reporters from the podium at the state Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, Cohen gave her final presentation of charts, graphs and data used to guide the response to the pandemic.
Cohen, who has been secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services since 2017, announced several weeks ago that she will resign at the end of this month to try something different. The physician and mother of two daughters has not divulged what that might be.
She has knocked back speculation that she plans to run for the U.S. Senate next year in North Carolina and offered another clue when asked whether she might be working for the Biden administration.
“I want to continue to make sure that I am doing something that can impact the lives and public health of communities, but I don’t believe it will be in a public service role in the future,” Cohen said.
Cooper has tapped Kody Kinsley, the DHHS chief deputy secretary of health, to grab the baton from Cohen and lead North Carolina through the next phases of the pandemic response and recovery.
The handoff to Kinsley, subject to approval by the state Senate, will come as North Carolina tussles with yet another COVID strain — the Omicron variant.
Though first detected in South Africa, Mecklenburg County public health officials reported that the extremely contagious variant was detected in Charlotte earlier this month after a fully-vaccinated UNC-Charlotte student returned from travel out of state. The student had mild symptoms, UNC-C officials told reporters. Though that was the first case detected in North Carolina, public health officials speculate that it is not the only one case here caused by Omicron.
The Delta variant remains dominant in North Carolina, but scientists studying Omicron as it moves swiftly around the world are troubled by its extreme ability to pass easily from person to person.
Cohen was asked what she thought of data coming from South Africa, the first country to report the Omicron variant, that showed infected people were reporting less severe illness than that seen with the Delta variant. Should North Carolina expect a similar pattern?
“What I think about Omicron is that we are still learning,” Cohen responded. “What early data shows us is that it is certainly much more contagious than the Delta variant, but we are seeing that it is less severe.”
“I think we are still trying to understand from the science and the data what is that lower level of severity being driven by,” Cohen said. “Is it because it has largely been infecting folks who are younger who tend to get less severe disease to begin with? Or is it because there are many, many folks who have gotten a vaccine or have had past exposure to COVID already? I think the scientific community is still trying to tease out the why.”
Cohen said with more data and more time to study the patterns of Omicron, it could turn out that the variant causes illness as severe as that seen with the Delta strain.
That uncertainty lingers as Christmas, Kwanza and New Year’s Day approach. COVID cases are on the rise again in North Carolina, according to the DHHS dashboard. On Tuesday, there were 1,932 lab-confirmed cases, one day last week saw 4,153 cases.
Cohen speculated that Thanksgiving gatherings and the colder weather pushing more people indoors, where the virus spreads more readily, contributed to that increase.
In 2020 and early 2021, North Carolina saw a surge in cases after the holidays at the end of the year, straining health care systems and leading to thousands more deaths.
On Dec. 14, 2020, Katie Passaretti, medical director of infection prevention at Atrium Health in Charlotte, became the first person in North Carolina to get a COVID vaccine.
Since then, more than 6.5 million people have had at least one dose of vaccine, according to the DHHS vaccinations dashboard. Some 1.981 million booster shots have been administered, the dashboard shows.
Cooper and Cohen have consistently touted the vaccines as the best weapon against COVID and a tool that can help North Carolina move beyond the pandemic.
“As new variants emerge and COVID continues to circulate, getting vaccinated and then boosted is the best way to protect yourself and get us out of this pandemic,” Cooper said. “Vaccines and boosters are widely available, and you can make an appointment today to give yourself this protection and more peace of mind.”
In a different place
This year, unlike last year, when vaccines were not widely available, Cooper and Cohen say people can enjoy the holidays with loved ones if they are vaccinated, boosted, getting testing before and after events, and wearing masks when indoors in public settings.
“We are in a different place as we go into this holiday season than we did last year,” Cohen said. “We’re a year into having a powerful tool. The vaccines have really helped us beat back this pandemic.”
Because of the vaccines, Cohen said, North Carolina does not have a statewide mask mandate and other restrictions that were in place this time last year.
“Folks can gather safely if they are getting vaccinated, getting boosted, using tests, using masks,” Cohen said. “There are safe ways to make sure that folks can enjoy the holidays, but I am still worried about our hospital capacity.
“We are seeing a more contagious version of COVID in the Omicron variant on the horizon. We know we’re going into the winter, which is what the COVID virus likes. It likes the winter, and we know that it’s also flu season. So there are a lot of strains on our hospitals as we go into these winter months.
Though many symptoms of flu are similar to COVID-19, the adult in the western part of the state who died in the second week of December tested positive for influenza and not COVID.
State officials did not release the person’s name, hometown, county, age or gender, citing privacy concerns for the family.
The somber news prompted Zack Moore, the state epidemiologist, to encourage everyone to not only get vaccinated against COVID, but also get a flu shot.
Flu season in North Carolina begins in October and extends through May.
“This is a sad reminder that flu can be a serious illness and can lead to complications and even death in some cases,” Moore said in a statement. “With flu cases increasing and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for people to get a flu vaccine this year, as well as a COVID-19 vaccination or booster if they have not already done so.”
North Carolina had an atypically low number of influenza cases in 2020, when many people wore masks because of the coronavirus pandemic and restricted who they gathered with, as well as the number of people.
During the five flu seasons before the pandemic, though, influenza deaths ranged from 186 to 391, according to a DHHS press release.
As the number of COVID cases rise again, health officials are seeing a similar pattern with influenza as the cold weather pushes people indoors more where viruses can spread more quickly in confined spaces.
“Unfortunately, COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the midst of the flu season, creating even more demand of our state’s hospital beds,” Kinsley said in a statement.
Seasonal flu shots are recommended annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for anyone 6 months old and older. COVID shots are recommended for children as young as 5 and everyone older than that. The shots can be administered at the same time, according to DHHS officials.
‘Use the tools’
Though children as young as 5 have been eligible for a kid-size dose of vaccine since last month, only 17 percent of the children ages 5 to 11 have had one dose of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine, according to one of the charts Cohen shared at her final briefing. Forty-six percent of children ages 12 to 17 have had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and only 56 percent of the population ages 18 to 24 have had a dose.
As COVID cases begin to climb again, children and young adults, the least vaccinated age groups, are bearing the brunt of the infections, Cohen said.
Cohen got her daughters vaccinated in November, the first weekend that children younger than 12 were eligible for shots. She encourages other parents to do the same.
Though many people have tired of the pandemic, the presence of COVID remains a factor in how people gather.
“As we went through the data today, everyone should be on guard,” Cohen said. “The virus is still here. But we have tools in order to beat back this pandemic, vaccines being our tools. What I hope folks take away from our message today is get vaccinated and get boosted as soon as possible. There are other tools. Make sure you are getting tested as you go to your family gatherings for the holidays. Test yourself before and after travel and wear masks, absolutely, when you are indoors and in public settings.
“I think everyone knows what to do at this point. We just have to use the tools that we know work.”
Coronavirus by the numbers
According to NCDHHS data, as of Tuesday afternoon:
19,033 people total in North Carolina have died of coronavirus.
1,577,154 have been diagnosed with the disease. Of those, 1,575 are in the hospital. The hospitalization figure is a snapshot of people hospitalized with COVID-19 infections on a given day and does not represent all of the North Carolinians who may have been in the hospital throughout the course of the epidemic.
As of Tuesday, 439 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units across the state.
North Carolina tracked COVID-19 re-infections in the case counts from March 1, 2021 through Sept. 20, 2021. All told, North Carolina tracked 10,812 reinfections, 200 of those were in people who were previously vaccinated. Ninety-four people who were reinfected with COVID-19 have died.
1,515,240 people who had COVID-19 are presumed to have recovered. This weekly estimate does not denote how many of the diagnosed cases in the state are still infectious. Nor does it reflect the number of so-called “long-COVID” survivors who continue to feel the effects of the disease beyond the defined “recovery” period.
To date, 20,893,384 tests have been completed in North Carolina. As of July 2020, all labs in the state are required to report both their positive and negative test results to the lab, so that figure includes all of the COVID-19 tests performed in the state. Most recently, 9.2 percent of those testing were testing positive.
People ages 25-49 make up the largest group of cases (39 percent). While 12 percent of the positive diagnoses were in people ages 65 and older, seniors make up 74 percent of coronavirus deaths in the state.
263 outbreaks are ongoing in group facilities across the state, including nursing homes and correctional and residential care facilities.
As of Nov. 30, 6,510,428 North Carolinians have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Ninety-one percent of people over the age of 65 have been completely vaccinated, while 58 percent of the total population is fully vaccinated. 1,981,998 boosters have been administered.
Children between the ages of 5 and 11 became eligible for vaccination during November. A total of 150,476 first doses have been given to those children, a total of 17 percent of that population.
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