More Than Half Of North Carolina Residents Now Vaccinated

NORTH CAROLINA — More than half of the adults in North Carolina 18 and older are now at least partially vaccinated and at least 43 percent fully vaccinated, state health officials announced this week.

Last month, Gov. Roy Cooper made an urgent call for at least a partial vaccination of at least two-thirds of adults 18 years old and older in the state as soon as possible.

"With at least two-thirds of adults vaccinated, our public health experts believe we will have enough protection across our communities to be able to live more safely with this virus and begin to put this pandemic behind us," Cooper said.

President Joe Biden is calling for 70 percent of Americans to be fully vaccinated by July 4.

SEE ALSO: NC's Gov. Cooper Eyes Lifting COVID-19 Mandates By June 1

As of Friday, May 7, North Carolina had administered more than 7.5 million doses of vaccine, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

"This is as significant milestone toward our goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19 and bringing summer back to North Carolina," NCDHHS Secretary Mandy K. Cohen said in a statement.

North Carolina reported 1,932 new cases of COVID-19 Friday and a daily percent positive rate of 4.4 percent. As of May 7, at least 12,780 deaths in the state were attributed to COVID-19.

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