The WNC COVID-19 Data Dashboard provides regional and county-specific snapshots of data currently available from NCDHHS. This regional dashboard is updated every Tuesday and allows you to explore

• cumulative trends and case counts,
• demographic breakdowns,
• emerging hot spots, and
• week-over-week trends.

The dashboard is a collaborative project of WNC Health Network, UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, and epidemiologist Jennifer Runkle, PhD, MSPH, and is intended to support health professionals as they develop communication, prevention, and mitigation strategies to meet the unique needs of our mountain communities and reduce the impact of COVID-19.

You can find this dashboard along with dashboards for individual WNC counties, North Carolina, and Johns Hopkins in a new dashboard box in MAHEC’s COVID-19 Library Guide.

With the holidays just around the corner and COVID-19 cases on the rise nationwide, health officials are urging families and friends to take precautions as they gather this year. The CDC has issued updated recommendations for holiday gatherings that include:

• Host or attend outdoor activities when possible. Avoid crowded, poorly ventilated, or fully enclosed indoor spaces.
• Limit the size and duration of gatherings. Both the number of people and length of time interacting increase your risk.
• Keep it local. Limit travel and socializing outside your immediate household as much as possible. Reconsider socializing with guests from communities where COVID transmission is high.
• Keep it safe before, during, and after gathering. Be sure you are practicing prevention strategies like wearing masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing — and that those in attendance are too.
• Make it safer. If you are hosting an event, ensure guests have what they need to reduce risk including extra masks, hand sanitizer, tissues, and extra precautions around food and drinks.

You can find more curated resources for reference and patient distribution in MAHEC’s Library Guide Celebrating the Winter Holidays During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

It has become clear that COVID-19 is not the great equalizer it was initially thought to be. National data aggregated by race and ethnicity show a wide disparity in mortality rates for Black and Indigenous Americans in particular. Black Americans die at a rate that is more than twice that of White Americans, who have the lowest mortality rate.

Controlling for age differences widens this disparity. Compared to White Americans, the age-adjusted COVID-19 mortality rate for

• Blacks and African Americans is 3.2 times as high,
• Latino Americans is 3.2 times as high,
• Indigenous people is 3.1 times as high,
• Pacific Islanders is 2.4 times as high, and
• Asian Americans is 1.2 times as high.

You can find curated resources to help you better understand and address health equity issues in MAHEC’s COVID-19 Health Equity and Community Resources LibGuides.

Provider Resources

• COVID-19 Toolkit for Independent Primary Care Providers (AvanceCare)
• COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker global comparison of COVID-19 outcomes
• NC Financial Recovery Program (NCMS) NOTE the Nov. 30 deadline to apply!
• WNC PPE Supply Chain Update including current supply gaps, vendor, sourcing information

Patient Resources

• Buncombe County School-Related COVID Dashboard (BCHHS) updated weekly on Thursdays
• COVID-19 Ongoing Clusters in Child-Care and School Settings (NCDHHS) updated on Tuesdays and Fridays
• COVID-19 Vaccination 101 Overview Deck, patient-friendly information on North Carolina’s COVID-19 vaccine planning and distribution process and vaccine safety (NCDHHS)
• COVID-19 WNC LatinX Hotline, COVID-19 information, resources, PPE kits, and more for Spanish-speaking residents (828) 329-7169, M-F, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Guidelines for Get-Togethers (NCHDDS) in English and Spanish
• “SlowCOVIDNC” Exposure Notification App (NCDHHS)
• Whatever Your Reason campaign in English and Spanish (NCDHHS)