Dr. Mandy Cohen, alongside Gov. Roy Cooper, on Tuesday, Dec. 14, gave what will likely be her last briefing on the coronavirus. Cohen’s message carried similar themes expressed since the vaccines became available, first to health care workers, exactly one year ago. “Vaccines and boosters protect you,” she said. North Carolina has since administered 12...
COVID-19 cases in North Carolina may actually be decreasing, even as media hysteria and local mask mandates rage on. Cases, based on the seven-day rolling average, says Jon Sanders, appear to be dropping, considering rates in North Carolina and neighboring states. Sanders is a senior fellow in regulatory studies and research editor at the John...
The N.C. House on Thursday, Aug. 5, concurred with the Senate on a bill giving parents control over the COVID vaccine. House Bill 96, which passed on the concurrence vote, 106-5, requires written consent from a parent or legal guardian for a minor to receive a vaccine approved for emergency use, but not yet fully...
Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday, Aug. 5, to correctly identify Nazneen Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Justice. On the heels of a new executive order requiring state employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine or be required to wear a mask and submit to weekly testing, Gov. Roy Cooper is urging...
Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Thursday, July 29, that, although statewide mask mandates will still expire July 30 according to recent guidance, his administration is launching vaccination verification requirements for Cabinet agencies and a general campaign to pressure other government entities and private businesses toward similar vaccination requirements. “This virus is now much more contagious...
If more people are getting vaccinated because of the governor’s handouts and giveaways, I sure can’t tell. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is handing out gift cards in specific counties, and he’s holding lotteries offering cash prizes and college tuition. Not with his money, of course. For the hundredth time, people who wanted a vaccine...
Two bills, which would allow medical professionals who aren’t doctors greater latitude in serving patients, are advancing in the Senate. Taken together, the bills would help reduce health care costs by freeing up pharmacists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners to perform more basic services. House Bill 96 would allow pharmacists to administer injectable drugs to...
Anyone who wanted a COVID vaccine has gotten a vaccine. Anyone who wants a vaccine can get a vaccine. It’s a fact transcending logical debate, child-like in its simplicity. Not only is the vaccine free, but now, depending on where you live in North Carolina, the state will pay you for the quick shot in...
The freedom to choose — where we work, what we eat, what we wear, etc. — is a core tenet of libertarianism, and that freedom, though often questioned and even attacked, endures. Even as we’re still crawling out of the entangled system of government-imposed lockdowns, suppressions, and restrictions. Sad results from the pandemic. The Centers...
Gov. Roy Cooper may not even realize it, but he’s fallen into a weird pattern of announcing priorities. Cooper issues executive orders — using broad powers granted him under the auspices of the N.C. Emergency Management Act — like a firefighter tossing out candy at a Christmas parade. That power, regardless of protests and lawsuits,...
Education workers will leap to the head of the line for COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 24. More than a million seniors are still waiting for their first dose. Seniors will share their priority status with teachers, child-care workers, and anyone working in Pre-K–12 schools, beginning Feb. 24. The state has vaccinated only 40.7% of its...
