VOLUME 6 ISSUE 27
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
CDC issues guidance on polio, measles for Afghan refugees Washington, D.C. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance on Tuesday to local health departments to maintain vigilance for measles and paralytic polio disease among arrivals from Afghanistan, according to a memo obtained by North State Journal. The CDC says that “individuals from Afghanistan are being resettled across the U.S. Afghanistan ranks 7th in the world for measles cases with a current outbreak and one of only two countries with both wild and vaccine-derived poliovirus in circulation.” The memo indicates that many of those arriving are choosing to have documents processed at military bases in the U.S. The CDC says efforts are being made to deliver vaccination records as soon as possible, but local health leaders should review typical symptoms of measles and polio for any refugee and contact county health departments if cases are suspected. NSJ STAFF
Higher age of NC juvenile prosecution becomes law Raleigh The minimum age for prosecution in North Carolina’s juvenile courts will rise later this year from 6 to 8 in legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper. The increase will remove North Carolina’s status as the state with the lowest age for juvenile adjudication set by law in the country. The juvenile justice law says that, starting in December, 8- and 9-year-olds subject to juvenile court adjudication will be limited to those who commit the most severe felonies or are repeat offenders. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Hanover sheriff: Teen charged in shooting at high school Wilmington A teen has been charged after a student was shot during a fight at New Hanover High School on Monday, the sheriff’s office said. Several students were fighting around 11 a.m. at the school when a 15-year-old shot another juvenile, Sheriff Ed McMahon said at a news conference. The wounded student was taken to a hospital and his injuries aren’t considered life-threatening, McMahon said. Both teens are students at the school, which has about 1,500 students, according to county schools spokesman Russell Clark. Authorities have arrested and charged the 15-year-old with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and weapons offenses, the sheriff’s office said. “Our schools need to be the safest place for our children to be,” McMahon said. “We are not going to tolerate this kind of behavior in our school system.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cuomo legal woes continue, could cost public at least $9.5M Albany, N.Y. Resigning from office probably didn’t end former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legal problems, and no matter what happens next, taxpayers are likely to wind up with a hefty bill. The state has already agreed to pay up to $9.5 million to lawyers representing and investigating Cuomo and his administration over sexual harassment allegations and other matters. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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SENIOR AIRMAN TAYLOR CRUL/U.S. AIR FORCE VIA AP
Biden troop withdrawal finishes in Afghanistan In this Aug. 30, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, a soldier, assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, boards a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the final noncombatant evacuation operation missions at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
NORTH
NC Treasurer Folwell announces $252.6M in GARVEE bonds
JOURNaL
Marks 8th round of GARVEE bonds in past 14 years
STATE
More than 1M in NC have recovered from COVID-19 State leaders say they still need vaccine By Matt Mercer North State Journal RALEIGH — As of Aug. 30, more than 1.1 million have recovered from COVID-19 since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020. State health leaders, however, say that despite recovering from the virus, those individuals should still get vaccinated. During a press briefing on Aug. 18 with Gov. Roy Cooper and state leaders, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen indicated that the state wasn’t actively tracking the number of citizens who may possess immunity. This type of antibody testing, which has been done locally by Wake Forest Baptist Health, for example, often shows a higher degree of antibodies in the community than just those with positive COVID-19 tests. The Wake Forest study showed that before vaccinations began in late December 2020, 30% of those who took an antibody test showed antibodies against the virus. Now, as of Aug. 31, 54% of the state’s population has received at least one dose of vaccine, including 65% of those 18 or older. In the United Kingdom, the Office of National Statistics shared an update in late July that showed 94% of the population in England had antibodies, but only 80% were fully vaccinated. In response to a question
about how the state was handling those with natural immunity, Cohen said they should still get vaccinated. “There’s a very different way in which your body builds immunity when you get COVID vs. when you get a vaccine. The vaccine is a supercharged way of teaching your body about COVID,” said Cohen in the briefing. “When you get COVID in the community, it potentially can just give you a limited type of immunity. Some people it can give extensive immunity, but often it is limited.” That view, however, is not shared by all health leaders. Dr. Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins physician and public health researcher, has written extensively on the benefit of natural immunity in addition to the national vaccination campaign. In a recent question-and-answer with U.S. News & World Report, Makary says, “I’ve had debates with other public researchers about the effectiveness and durability of natural immunity. I’ve been told that natural immunity could fall off a cliff, rendering people susceptible to infection. But here we are now, over a year and a half into the clinical experience of observing patients who were infected, and natural immunity is effective and going strong.” He continues, saying, “That’s because with natural immunity, the body develops antibodies to the entire surface of the virus, not just a spike protein constructed from a vaccine.” See COVID-19, page A3
$1.1 billion.” The project list provided by the state treasurer includes: Orange County, I-40 Widening, from the I-85 split at Exit 163 By A.P. Dillon to the Durham County line, widNorth State Journal ening approximately 11 miles from RALEIGH — State Treasur- four to six lanes to improve capacer Dale Folwell has announced ity and safety. It will also upgrade the NC 86 interchange $252.6 million in Grant (Exit 266). Anticipation Revenue Forsyth County, I-74 Vehicle Bonds known as Winston-Salem NorthGARVEE bonds. ern Beltway, EastGARVEE bonds al- “We’re very ern Section, from US low for the state to pleased to be 311 to SR 2211 (Bauxpledge future federal able to help Mountain Road). Conhighway funds to pay in providing struction of a multidebt service. lane, divided freeway to “We’re very pleased funding for complete an additional to be able to help in segment of I-74. providing funding for much-needed Forsyth County, I-74 much-needed trans- transportation Winston-Salem Northportation projects ern Beltway, Eastern across the state,” Fol- projects across Section, from I-40 to well said in a press re- the state" US 421/NC150 (Salem lease. “I’m appreciaParkway), construction tive of the department’s of a multi-lane, divided staff with the State and State Treasurer freeway. Local Government Fi- Dale Folwell Forsyth County, I-74 nance Division and Winston-Salem Norththe Local Government ern Beltway, WestCommission for their ern Section, constructhard work on this issuance. It’s an amazing and histor- ing a new interchange between the ical rate that they were able to get Winston-Salem Northern Beltway and existing US 52 north of Winfor these bonds.” According to the press release ston-Salem to complete the conby Folwell’s office, the funds will nection of I-74 and provide connecbe used to accelerate construction tivity to the Northern Beltway. Craven County, US 70 Havelock on a variety of N.C. Department of Transportation projects. The Lo- Bypass, from north of Pine Grove cal Government Commission and to south of Havelock, building a the Council of State approved the multi-lane, divided freeway to rebonds on Aug. 3, 2021. Additional- lieve congestion in and around the ly, the state’s GARVEE program is Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Starated A+ by Fitch, A2 by Moody’s tion and the city of Havelock, sepaand AA by S&P. This round of GARVEE bond See GARVEE, page A2 sales is the eighth spanning the last 14 years. According to the statement, “The bonds were awarded to an underwriting syndicate led by BofA Securities. Barclays, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Loop Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities are also members of the syndicate.» The bonds will reach maturity in 15 years and the program is structured to achieve approximately level debt service. The 2021 GARVEE bonds are scheduled to close on Sept. 16, 2021. Folwell’s office says that including 2021 bonds, the “total amount of GARVEE Bonds outstanding will be approximately
Parents will want to read the K-12 COVID bill sent to Gov. Cooper By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A bill making changes to K-12 education policy, calendars and remote instruction has been sent to the governor. Senate Bill 654, K-12 COVID provisions, was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper Monday, Aug. 30. The bill went through multiple versions before a conference committee was assigned and produced a final proposed commit-
tee substitute (PCS). This version passed the Senate unanimously (44-0) and was nearly unanimous in the House, with a vote of 102-1. The lone “no” vote was state Rep. Terence Everitt (D-Wake). The measure contains a provision that will require school boards to “vote at least once a month on whether the face-covering policy should be modified.” In a July 21 briefing, Cooper said the state was not making masks mandatory for K-12 stu-
dents for the current school year. He indicated that N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen had updated the StrongSchoolsNC toolkit that aligned with Centers of Disease Control guidance for schools. Following the July StrongSchoolsNC toolkit update, 62 districts voted for making masks optional and 52 districts made See BILL, page A2