Local, state and federal governments, along with the medical profession, seem to finally be winning the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the state of North Carolina has just released a statistic reminding everyone of the damage that’s already been done by the disease. In a Tuesday, Feb.9 press release, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced that the number of virus-related deaths in the state had exceeded 10,000.
State health officials called it “a sobering milestone,” and added that, on the same day that the state hit 10,000 deaths, North Carolina also surpassed 800,000 total coronavirus cases since the first case was reported on March 3, 2020.
The key to keeping that number from growing much more, of course, is vaccinations. North Carolina’s goal is to vaccinate “as many people as quickly and equitably as possible.”
As of February 9, the state had administered more than 1.4 million doses of the vaccine.
Many counties and health providers in the state had a tough first few weeks with vaccine rollouts, but most have been able to work through those issues and have put more efficient vaccination procedures in place.
NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said on Tuesday that every one of the deaths was a tragedy.
“Together we grieve with the family and friends of the North Carolinians who have lost their lives to this terrible pandemic,” she said. “Each one of these numbers represents a daughter or son, a parent or grandparent, a neighbor or friend — people who are deeply loved and who were part of the fabric of our community.”
She added that the state is still seeing high levels of virus spread across the state and reminded everyone to remain cautious.
Don’t let your guard down. Where a mask. Keep space when possible. Wash your hands regularly. Get vaccinated when you can.
It is getting better, but we aren’t out of the woods yet. With returns to school, new strains spreading, and people generally taking more liberties, there are still going to be some ups and downs. I’m personally encouraged that things are looking better, but this fight is not over.
Meanwhile…there were about 20,000 cancer-related deaths in NC in 2020…does anyone car about those? My guess is no…no mask-wearing virtue signaling can be done about that…
Of course, but the huge difference is that cancer is not something we can prevent by simple behaviors like wearing a mask, washing our hands regularly, etc. The approximately 20,000 cancer related deaths (curious where you pulled your numbers from) represent deaths that we expect to have every single year and this doesn’t represent an additional 20,000 lives lost from any given previous year – it is the natural mortality of cancer.
You are right, mask-wearing won’t prevent cancer – it is a different disease. But people with cancer are more likely to die from COVID. So if you actually care about cancer patients and deaths, then wear a mask.