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The Stanly County Health Department has received many questions about COVID-19 information for Stanly County. Here are answers to the questions that are asked most frequently.

● Is the Delta variant here in Stanly County? Does it increase my risk?
○ N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reports:
■ Delta variant makes up the majority of new COVID-19 cases in NC;
■ Delta is 60 percent more contagious as compared to the Alpha variant;
■ Delta is causing more serious illness in unvaccinated adults and more
cases and serious illness in children.

● If I am not vaccinated, how can I protect myself from COVID-19?
○ Stanly County Health Department, NC Department of Health and Human
Services, and CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) all recommend
that you get vaccinated if you are healthy enough to do so.
○ If you choose not to get vaccinated you should:
■ Wear a mask or cloth face covering when you are in public;
■ Wait 6 feet apart. Avoid close contact with others;
■ Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer.

● What are COVID-19 symptoms?
○ Fever or chills;
○ Cough;
○ Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing;
○ Fatigue;
○ Muscle or body ache;
○ Headache;
○ New loss of taste or smell;
○ Sore throat;
○ Congestion or runny nose;
○ Nausea or vomiting;
○ Diarrhea.

● I am fully vaccinated, can I still get COVID-19?
○ Yes, your vaccine taught your body to recognize the virus that causes COVID-19 and produce antibodies to fight it. People who are vaccinated generally have
less risk for serious illness, hospitalization and death than those who have not
been vaccinated.

● I am fully vaccinated, do I need a booster shot?
○ COVID-19 booster shots are not recommended by the FDA (Food and Drug
Administration) or CDC at this time. Should a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine be recommended in the future the health department will let the community know through the media and on Stanly County Health Department Facebook page.

● What do I do if I test positive for COVID-19?
○ Isolate yourself from others.
○ Let people you have been in contact with (within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more
over a 24 hour period) know that they may need to quarantine and check themselves for symptoms for a period of 14 days from the last day they were in
contact with you.
○ COVID-19 positive persons should be allowed to return to normal activities if:
■ It has been 10 days since they first showed symptoms;
■ AND, they haven’t had a fever for 24 hours, without taking fever reducing
medicine;
■ AND, other symptoms have improved;
■ COVID-19 positive persons who did not develop symptoms should be allowed to return to regular activities 10 days after they were tested.

○ Cooperate with the health department in contact tracing efforts.

COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available for anyone age 12 or older. To schedule a first dose vaccine appointment online at the Stanly County Health Department visit http://book.novelhealth.ai/stanly, or call the hotline at 980-323-0205. For additional vaccine providers visit www.vaccines.gov.
OptumServe has two drive-in COVID-19 testing sites in Stanly County. The Locust site is located in the back parking lot of Stanly Community College – Crutchfield Campus and is open for limited hours. The Albemarle site is at Stanly County Commons in the big white tent and is open Monday – Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. These sites are operated independently from Stanly County Health Department. To schedule an appointment visit https://lhi.care/covidtesting or call 877-562-4850. Testing is available at no cost.

For additional testing location options, consult the Find My Testing Place feature on the NC Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 website: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/