(Updated 5/10/23 at 2:15 pm)

The end of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration on May 11 will transition COVID-19 response into a routine part of public health and healthcare activities. This will impact the way that COVID-19 data is reported to public health agencies, as laboratories will no longer be required to report COVID-19 test results. Transylvania Public Health will no longer be publishing regular reports of COVID-19 data and trends. However, public health agencies will continue to monitor certain COVID-29 metrics along with other communicable diseases of concern.

At the national level, the CDC will report the percentage of COVID-19 associated deaths and percentage of emergency department visits for patients with COVID-19 each week, as modeled after flu surveillance. The CDC will also report COVID-19 hospital admissions weekly through April 2024. Wastewater surveillance will continue, along with genomic testing to track transmission of variants. Vaccination data will be updated monthly, for jurisdictions that continue to submit data. (See https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/.)

In North Carolina, NCDHHS has already incorporated COVID-19 data into its dashboard with other respiratory illness data. It will continue to include data on visits to emergency departments, new hospital admissions, and wastewater surveillance. (See https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.) State-level vaccination data updates will retire on May 31, but will be available from the CDC. COVID-19 vaccination records are transitioning to the routine immunization reporting system. After June 1, individuals who need copies of their COVID-19 vaccination records will need to get them from their healthcare provider, local health department, or pharmacy in the same way that they request other vaccination records.

Members of the Transylvania County Public health staff are working with county officials, healthcare providers schools, and others in the community to prepare for coronavirus.

For more information, read the latest news from the Transylvania Times:

Members of the Transylvania County Public health staff are working with county officials, healthcare providers schools, and others in the community to prepare for coronavirus.

For more information, read the latest news from the Transylvania Times: