Weather Briefing for Wednesday, January 27, 2021

OUTLOOK

This is an abbreviated news and weather briefing.

Precipitation will return along a stalled boundary just to the south, and with an approaching upper disturbance from the west, today through tonight. Canadian high pressure will bring back dry conditions Thursday through Saturday. A cold front will arrive from the west on Sunday.


News Highlights



• PRESS RELEASE: Moderna Provides U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Supply [LINK]

• Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance (Tuesday, January 26, 2021) [LINK]

Older News

• January 2021 Macon County Board of Education Meeting [LINK]
• Macon County Public Health Has Streamlined Vaccine Registration and Appointment Scheduling [LINK]
• Representative Gillespie Appointed to House Committees [LINK]

• NC State Senator Calls Out NCDHHS For Diverting COVID-19 Vaccine for Mass Vaccination Events [LINK]

• Rumor Control: If someone tells you the CDC has changed the way they test or classify COVID-19 Cases, you can fack check them by refering to the What's New Section of the CDC website, where new updates are listed in chronological order. [LINK]

• Macon County Reports Additional Death Related to COVID-19 [LINK]

• HCA Healthcare Helps Bring Surgical and Procedure PPE Mask Manufacturing to Asheville LINK] • Video and supporting documents from the January 2021 meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners [LINK]




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Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

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General forecast through Friday Night


Franklin area

Today

Rain likely, mainly between 9am and noon, then showers likely after noon. Cloudy, with highs in the mid-50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the south around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tonight

Rain and snow showers likely before 1am, then a slight chance of snow showers. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with lows in the upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Thursday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the lower 20s. Light winds out of the north.

Friday

Sunny, with highs near 50.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 20s.

Highlands area

Today

Rain likely, mainly between 8am and noon, then showers likely after noon. Patchy fog after 4pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with highs in the mid-to-upper 40s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning becoming calm by noon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tonight

Rain and snow showers likely before 11pm, then a chance of snow showers between 11pm and 1am. Patchy fog before 10pm. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 25 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Thursday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 30s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.

Thursday Night

Mostly clear, with lows around 20. WInds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 40s.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-20s.

Otto area

Today

Rain likely, mainly before 11am, then showers likely after noon. Cloudy, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the south around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tonnight

Rain and snow showers likely before 1am, then a slight chance of snow showers. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Thursday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-40s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Thursday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with highs near 50.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s.

Nantahala area

Today

A chance of rain before noon, then showers likely, mainly after 4pm. Cloudy, with highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night

Rain showers likely before 10pm, then rain and snow showers likely between 10pm and midnight, then a chance of snow showers after midnight. Patchy fog in the evening before midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-20s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Thursday

Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with highs in the mid-30s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Thursday Night

Clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 20s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Friday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-40s.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s.



HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not anticipated today. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for locations above 3500 from 6pm tonight to noon tomorrow for most of the county and a Winter Storm Warning is in effect for he Nanathala area for locations above 3500 feet from 6pm tonight to noon tomorrow.

Rain will move through the county today and some wintry precipitation is expected tonight. As usual, most of the snow accumulations will be above the magic 3500 foot level, where 3 to 6 inches of snow is expected. Those of us below 3500 feet will see less than that, probably around an inch or less in the Franklin area. The areas most likely to see snow are: the Nantahala area, especially in the higher elevations, the northern section of the county, and along the county line to the east.

Winter Weather Advisory
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
246 AM EST Wed Jan 27 2021

...ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL EXPECTED IN PARTS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA TONIGHT...

.An upper level disturbance will bring precipitation to much of western North Carolina late Wednesday into early Thursday. An accompanying cold front will permit temperatures to plummet across the region tonight, with the precipitation changing over quickly from rain to snow at the higher elevations of the North Carolina mountains this evening before transitioning to snow in the valleys through the night.

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON EST THURSDAY ABOVE 3500 FEET...

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON EST THURSDAY BELOW 3500 FEET...

* WHAT...For the Winter Storm Warning, heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches above 3500 feet in elevation. Winds gusting as high as 40 to 50 mph at times along the higher ridges. For the Winter Weather Advisory, snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches below 3500 feet. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph at times.

* WHERE...The Tennessee border counties of the western North Carolina mountains.

* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening to noon EST Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute on Thursday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Wind chill values near zero will be possible at the higher elevations by daybreak Thursday.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel, keep a flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.

Please report snow and ice accumulations by calling the National Weather Service toll free at...1...800...2 6 7...8 1 0 1. Leave a message with your observation and the specific location where it occurred. You can also post your report to National Weather Service Greenville Spartanburg Facebook or tweet your report using hashtag nwsgsp.

Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or your favorite source of weather information for the latest updates. Additional details can be found at www.weather.gov/gsp. The latest state road conditions can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

The following is for the Nantahala area of Macon County

Winter Storm Warning
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
246 AM EST Wed Jan 27 2021

...ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL EXPECTED IN PARTS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA TONIGHT...

.An upper level disturbance will bring precipitation to much of western North Carolina late Wednesday into early Thursday. An accompanying cold front will permit temperatures to plummet across the region tonight, with the precipitation changing over quickly from rain to snow at the higher elevations of the North Carolina mountains this evening before transitioning to snow in the valleys through the night. The transition from rain to snow will occur more slowly out along the Interstate 40 corridor, but a few early morning snow showers will produce some light accumulations across the northwest Piedmont as well, mainly east of I-77 across Davie County.

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON EST THURSDAY ABOVE 3500 FEET...

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON EST THURSDAY BELOW 3500 FEET...

* WHAT...For the Winter Storm Warning, heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches above 3500 feet in elevation. Winds gusting as high as 40 to 50 mph at times along the higher ridges.

For the Winter Weather Advisory, snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches below 3500 feet. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph at times.

* WHERE...The Tennessee border counties of the western North Carolina mountains.

* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening to noon EST Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute on Thursday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Wind chill values near zero will be possible at the higher elevations by daybreak Thursday.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel, keep a flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.

Please report snow and ice accumulations by calling the National Weather Service toll free at...1...800...2 6 7...8 1 0 1. Leave a message with your observation and the specific location where it occurred. You can also post your report to National Weather Service Greenville Spartanburg Facebook or tweet your report using hashtag nwsgsp.

Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or your favorite source of weather information for the latest updates. Additional details can be found at www.weather.gov/gsp. The latest state road conditions can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

A coastal low pressure system will develop Wednesday through Wednesday night as an upper level disturbance arrives from the west. Snow showers will likely develop across the North Carolina mountains during this period and some accumulations are likely, especially along the higher elevations. Winter Weather Advisories could be needed soon. Very windsy conditions are also possible Wednesday night into Thursday.



COVID-19 BRIEFING

NCDHHS Coronavirus Briefing: Dr. Mandy Cohen (01/26/21)

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D. shares an update regarding COVID-19 vaccines and the distribution of vaccines in North Carolina, Tuesday, January 26, 2021. [LINK]

See the Biden Administration COVID-19 Plan [LINK]



COVID-19 in the Schools (January 25th Video)



At the January 25th school board meeting, Superintendent Dr Baldwin informed board members that 158 students and 22 staff out of school due to either being tested positive for COVID-19, or having to be isolated due to possible exposure.

NEW POSITIVE COVID-19 CASES (January 26th)

Mountain View Intermediate School-1
Franklin High School-2
East Franklin Elementary School-1
Highlands School-1
IOtla Valley School-2
Macon Middle School-3


Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a couple of charts by Macon Media to show you the long-term trends since April 17th. The health department has started releasing information about vaccine delivery, so those numbers will be included here also, as well as charted.

VACCINE DELIVERY
(The health department received its first shipment on December 30th)

Vaccines Given Tuesday 95, Monday 100
Current Inventory Tuesday 230, Monday 120
Total Vaccines Given Tuesday 2273, Monday 2178
(note--these numbers are on the day reported, not necessarily given since some shots may be given after the daily report is published)


Cases

2543 Detected
(+44 from Monday and +145 from last Tuesday and +1079 from four weeks ago)

533 Active
(-1 from Monday and -77 last Tuesday and +180 from four weeks ago)

1992 Recovered
(+45 from Monday and +221 last Tuesday and +890 from four weeks ago)

18 Deaths
(unchanged from Monday and +1 from last Tuesday and +9 from four weeks ago)


Testing

8538 by MCPH
+58 from Monday and +295 from last Tuesday and +809 from four weeks ago)

6700 by Others
(+20 from Monday and +303 from last Tuesday and +1786 from four weeks ago)

15238 total
(+78 from Monday and +598 from last Tuesday and +2595 from four weeks ago)

319 tests pending results
(+39 from Monday and +252 from last Tuesday and +239 from four weeks ago)

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Published at 4:45am on Wednesday, January 27, 2021

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PRESS RELEASE: Moderna Provides U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Supply

PRESS RELEASE 

MODERNA 

January 26, 2021 at 8:04 AM EST

The company has supplied over 30 million doses to U.S. Government to date

Remains on track to deliver 100 million doses to the U.S. Government by end of March 2021

Remains on track to deliver 200 million doses to the U.S. Government by end of June 2021

Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today provided a supply update for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, reporting that 30.4 million doses have been supplied to the U.S. Government to date. The Company continues to work closely with the U.S. Government and to provide regular updates on supply and production. Approximately 10.1 million doses have been administered in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention1.

The Company confirms that it is on track to deliver on its commitment of approximately 100 million doses to the United States government by the end of the first quarter of 2021, with 200 million doses total available by the end of the second quarter. All U.S. supply comes from Moderna’s dedicated supply chain in the U.S. On January 4, the Company announced that it increased its base-case global production estimate from 500 to 600 million doses for 2021. Moderna is continuing to invest and add staff to build up to potentially 1 billion doses for 2021.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 18, 2020 and Moderna began supplying to the government shortly thereafter. The U.S. Government has agreed to purchase 200 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine with options for potential purchase of 300 million additional doses.

About the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (also referred to as mRNA-1273) is an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 encoding for a prefusion stabilized form of the Spike (S) protein, which was co-developed by Moderna and investigators from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease’s (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center. The first clinical batch, which was funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, was completed on February 7, 2020 and underwent analytical testing; it was shipped to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on February 24, 2020, 42 days from sequence selection. The first participant in the NIAID-led Phase 1 study of the vaccine was dosed on March 16, 63 days from sequence selection to Phase 1 study dosing. On May 12, the FDA granted the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Fast Track designation. On May 29, the first participants in each age cohort: adults ages 18-55 years (n=300) and older adults ages 55 years and above (n=300) were dosed in the Phase 2 study of mRNA-1273. On July 8, the Phase 2 study completed enrollment.

On July 14, an interim analysis of the original cohorts in the NIH-led Phase 1 study of the vaccine was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. On July 28, results from a non-human primate preclinical viral challenge study evaluating the vaccine were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Results from the second interim analysis of the NIH-led Phase 1 study of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in the 56-70 and 71+ age groups were published on September 29 in The New England Journal of Medicine. On November 30, Moderna announced the primary efficacy analysis of the Phase 3 study of the vaccine conducted on 196 cases. On November 30, the Company also announced that it filed for Emergency Use Authorization with the U.S. FDA and a Conditional Marketing Authorization (CMA) with the European Medicines Agency. On November 30, the Company announced new data showing that mRNA-1273, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, remains stable at 2° to 8°C (36° to 46°F), the temperature of a standard home or medical refrigerator, for 30 days. On December 3, a letter to the editor was published in The New England Journal of Medicine reporting that participants in the Phase 1 study of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine retained high levels of neutralizing antibodies through 119 days following first vaccination (90 days following second vaccination). On December 18, 2020, the FDA authorized the emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in individuals 18 years of age or older.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is supporting the continued research and development of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine with $955 million in federal funding under contract no. 75A50120C00034. BARDA is reimbursing Moderna for 100 percent of the allowable costs incurred by the Company for conducting the program described in the BARDA contract. The U.S. government has agreed to purchase supply of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine under U.S. Department of Defense contract no. W911QY-20-C-0100.

Moderna has received authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine from regulatory authorities in the United States, Canada, Israel, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Additional authorizations are currently under review in other countries and by the World Health Organization. A summary of the Company’s work to date on COVID-19 can be found here.

AUTHORIZED USE IN THE UNITED STATES:

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for active immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in individuals 18 years of age and older.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Do not administer the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to individuals with a known history of severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any component of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.

Appropriate medical treatment to manage immediate allergic reactions must be immediately available in the event an acute anaphylactic reaction occurs following administration of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Monitor Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine recipients for the occurrence of immediate adverse reactions according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/).

Immunocompromised persons, including individuals receiving immunosuppressive therapy, may have a diminished response to the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may not protect all vaccine recipients.

Adverse reactions reported in a clinical trial following administration of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine include pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, chills, nausea/vomiting, axillary swelling/tenderness, fever, swelling at the injection site, and erythema at the injection site.

Available data on Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine administered to pregnant women are insufficient to inform vaccine-associated risks in pregnancy. Data are not available to assess the effects of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine on the breastfed infant or on milk production/excretion.

There are no data available on the interchangeability of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine with other COVID-19 vaccines to complete the vaccination series. Individuals who have received one dose of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should receive a second dose of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to complete the vaccination series.

Additional adverse reactions, some of which may be serious, may become apparent with more widespread use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.

Vaccination providers must complete and submit reports to VAERS online at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html. For further assistance with reporting to VAERS, call 1-800-822-7967. The reports should include the words " Moderna COVID- 19 Vaccine EUA " in the description section of the report.

About Moderna

In 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a science research-stage company advancing programs in the promising-but-still-unproven field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with its first medicine having treated millions of people, a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across six modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for both clinical and commercial production at scale and at unprecedented speed. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use of one of the earliest and most-effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and auto-immune diseases. Today, 24 development programs are underway across these therapeutic areas, with 13 programs having entered the clinic. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past six years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements regarding the Company’s anticipated schedule for the manufacturing and delivery of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to the U.S. government. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond Moderna’s control and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, among others: the fact that there has never been a commercial product utilizing mRNA technology approved for use; the fact that the rapid response technology in use by Moderna is still being developed and implemented; the safety, tolerability and efficacy profile of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine observed to date may change adversely in ongoing analyses of trial data or subsequent to commercialization; despite having ongoing interactions with the FDA or other regulatory agencies, the FDA or such other regulatory agencies may not agree with the Company’s regulatory approval strategies, components of our filings, such as clinical trial designs, conduct and methodologies, or the sufficiency of data submitted; Moderna may encounter delays in meeting manufacturing or supply timelines or disruptions in its distribution plans for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; whether and when any biologics license applications and/or additional emergency use authorization applications may be filed in various jurisdictions and ultimately approved by regulatory authorities; potential adverse impacts due to the global COVID-19 pandemic such as delays in regulatory review, manufacturing and clinical trials, supply chain interruptions, adverse effects on healthcare systems and disruption of the global economy; and those other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Moderna’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in subsequent filings made by Moderna with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are based on Moderna’s current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof.

---

1 https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations

Read More

Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance Tuesday, January 26, 2021 Meeting

**UPDATES WILL BE POSTED AT END OF ARTICLE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER**





This is Macon Media's attempt to cover the North Carolina General Assembly in a manner that provides the public with as much information with as little filtering or bias as possible. If analysis or links to articles that engage in analysis is posted, it will be marked as such and it should be read with the knowledge the author may have biases that influence his/her material.

The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance will be meeting today at 1pm. A video player has been embedded below. Since the state legislature does not publicly archive video, Macon Media will be recording the video and archiving it in the public interest and to promote transparency and accountability of those elected to public office.




Updates will be added in reverse chronological order below this line.
---------------------------------


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Published at 6:01 am on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 

Read More

News and Weather Briefing for Tuesday, January 26, 2021

OUTLOOK

This is an abbreviated news and weather briefing.

A moist warm front will lift through the Deep South today before a trailing cold front crosses the forecast area on Tuesday. Brief, dry high pressure returns late Tuesday before an area of low pressure brings precipitation back Wednesday into early Thursday. Canadian high pressure will return dry conditions Thursday afternoon through Saturday.


DAY SPONSOR

Carrion Tree Service is underwriting Macon Media for today. they are a fully licensed and insured tree service, specializing in dangerous tree removal, view clearing, pruning, and crane services with a 24 Hour emergency response.

Their phone number is 371-4718.

They can handle all your tree removal needs in good or bad weather.

News Highlights



• January 2021 Macon County Board of Education Meeting [LINK]
• Macon County Public Health Has Streamlined Vaccine Registration and Appointment Scheduling [LINK]
• Representative Gillespie Appointed to House Committees [LINK]

Older News

• NC State Senator Calls Out NCDHHS For Diverting COVID-19 Vaccine for Mass Vaccination Events [LINK]

• Rumor Control: If someone tells you the CDC has changed the way they test or classify COVID-19 Cases, you can fack check them by refering to the What's New Section of the CDC website, where new updates are listed in chronological order. [LINK]

• Macon County Reports Additional Death Related to COVID-19 [LINK]

• HCA Healthcare Helps Bring Surgical and Procedure PPE Mask Manufacturing to Asheville LINK] • Video and supporting documents from the January 2021 meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners [LINK]




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Weather Sponsor



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.

Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

All your masonry needs are available. Our phone number is 828.524.8545, the public is welcome, we’ll help you with your next project.


--- END SPONSOR SEGMENT---


General forecast through Thursday Night


Franklin area

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 8am. Cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with highs in the mid-60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Calm winds. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Wednesday

Showers likely, mainly after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-to-upper 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night

Rain showers likely before 10pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 10pm and midnight, then a chance of snow showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 40s.

Thursday Night

Clear, with lows in the lower 20s.

Highlands area

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 8am. The rain could be heavy at times. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with highs in the upper 50s. Winds out of the west 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tonight

A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2am. Increasing clouds, with lows around 40. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Wednesday

Showers likely, mainly after 9am. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the upper 40s. Winds out of the north 5 to 10 mph in the morning becoming calm by noon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night

Rain showers likely before 8pm, then rain and snow showers likely between 8pm and 10pm, then a chance of snow showers after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-20s. Winds out of the northwest 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday

Sunny, with highs in the mid-30s. Windy.

Thursday Night

Clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 20s.

Otto area

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 8am. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, cloudy through midmorning, then gradual clearing, with highs in the mid-60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 3am. Increasing clouds, with lows in the mid-40s. Light winds out of the northwest. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Wednesday

Showers likely, mainly after 9am. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-50s. Light and variable winds. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night

Rain showers likely before 11pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 11pm and 1am, then a chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 20s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 154 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday

Sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 40s.

Thursday Night

Clear, with lows in the mid-20s.

Nantahala area

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 8am. The rain could be heavy at times. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with highs in the lower 60s. Winds out of the west 5 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Winds out of the west around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Wednesday

Showers, mainly after 10am. Highs in the low-to-mid 50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night

Rain showers likely before 9pm, then rain and snow showers likely between 9pm and 11pm, then a chance of snow showers after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-20s. WInds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 20s.

Thursday Night

Clear, with lows in the low-to-mid 20s.



HAZARDS

Hazardous weather is not anticipated today.

A coastal low pressure system will develop Wednesday through Wednesday night as an upper level disturbance arrives from the west. Snow showers will likely develop across the North Carolina mountains during this period and some accumulations are likely, especially along the higher elevations. Winter Weather Advisories could be needed soon. Very windsy conditions are also possible Wednesday night into Thursday.



COVID-19 BRIEFING

TWiV 710: COVID-19 clinical update #46 with Dr Daniel Griffin



In COVID-19 clinical update #46, Daniel Griffin discusses the BinaxNow rapid antigen test, efficacy of Bamlanivimab in nursing homes, associations of serum vitamin D concentrations with in-hospital mortality and need for invasive mechanical ventilation, trials of IL-6 receptor antagonists, effects of anticoagulants on in-hospital mortality, and symptom persistence in outpatients. Show notes at [LINK]

See the Biden Administration COVID-19 Plan [LINK]

COVID-19 in the Schools



At last night's school board meeting, Superintendent Dr Baldwin informed board members that 158 students and 22 staff were out of school due to either being tested positive for COVID-19, or having to be isolated due to possible exposure. Earlier in the day, the school system released information regarding newly positive cases at area schools.

NEW POSITIVE COVID-19 CASES

Mountain View Intermediate School-3
Franklin High School-1
Cartoogechaye Elementary School-1
East Franklin Elementary School-1

Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a couple of charts by Macon Media to show you the long-term trends since April 17th. The health department has started releasing information about vaccine delivery, so those numbers will be included here also, as well as charted.

Date from Monday, January 25, 2021

VACCINE DELIVERY
(The health department received its first shipment on December 30th)

Vaccines Given Today 100
Current Inventory Today 120
Total Vaccines Given 2178
(note--these numbers are on the day reported, not necessarily given since some shots may be given after the daily report is published)

Cases
(four weeks ago today was Chistmas, so no four week changes are included in today's update)

2543 Detected
(+44 from Friday and +145 from last Monday and +1079 from four weeks ago)

533 Active
(-1 from Friday and -77 last Monday and +180 from four weeks ago)

1992 Recovered
(+45 from Friday and +221 last Monday and +890 from four weeks ago)

18 Deaths
(unchanged from Friday and +1 from last Monday and +9 from four weeks ago)

Testing

8538 by MCPH
+58 from Friday and +295 from last Monday and +809 from four weeks ago)

6700 by Others
(+20 from Friday and +303 from last Monday and +1786 from four weeks ago)

15238 total
(+78 from Friday and +598 from last Monday and +2595 from four weeks ago)

319 tests pending results
(+39 from Friday and +252 from last Monday and +239 from four weeks ago)

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Published at 4:40am on Tuesnday, January 26, 2021

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