SMITHFIELD &mdash; A drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic will get underway at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 10, at Brightleaf Flea Market, 2320 S. Bright Leaf Blvd., Smithfield. 
The clinic is open to all Johnstonians 18 and older. The Johnston County Public nHealth Department will administer the one-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine. The registration form is online at johnstonnc.com/covid19/files/Prevaccination_Covid_Reg_Form.pdf.
The Health Department said it would have 500 doses available on Saturday. Depending on the turnout, those attending might want to bring food and drink with them. Restrooms will be available if needed.
The Health Department recommends that people who have received another vaccine in the past 14 days not get the COVID-19 vaccine on Satursday. Also, people who have an active COVID-19 case or exposure to the virus should wait.
To receive up-to-date information on COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics in Johnston, text COVIDJOCO to 888777.

One-dose clinic is Saturday in Smithfield

170147983_1581597442230516_1488888591287292771_n.jpg

KENLY &mdash; A drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic will get underway at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 7, at North Johnston High School. Those attending should enter the campus from the athletic field entrance, which is across from 460 Watson Road, Kenly. 
Wednesday&rsquo;s clinic is open to all Johnstonians 18 and older. The Johnston County Public nHealth Department will administer the one-dose Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine. The registration form is online at johnstonnc.com/covid19/files/Prevaccination_Covid_Reg_Form.pdf.
The Health Department said it would have 500 doses available on Wednesday. Depending on the turnout, those attending might want to bring food and drink with them. Restrooms will be available if needed.
The Health Department recommends that people who have received another vaccine in the past 14 days not get the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. Also, people who have an active COVID-19 case or exposure to the virus should wait.
To receive up-to-date information on COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics in Johnston, text COVIDJOCO to 888777.

One-dose vaccine available Wednesday at North Johnston

COVID-19 clinic.jpg

The Johnston County Public Schools on Friday held a second-dose COVID-19 vaccination clinic for employees.
More than 1,800 employees registered in advance for the second-dose clinic, which ran from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at North Johnston High School.
&ldquo;I am so looking forward to getting back to normal,&rdquo; said Jordan Berube, a teacher at McGee&rsquo;s Crossroads Elementary School. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to being able to hug my first grade babies and see their smiles soon.&rdquo;
School employees received their first dose during a similar mass clinic on Feb. 24.
&ldquo;I was simply amazed at the participation we had from our staff today,&rdquo; said Area Assistant Superintendent David Pearce, who helped plan the vaccination event. &ldquo;Everyone came in with a smile on their face, were prepared for the event, and followed instructions perfectly. Their participation made for a smooth event for all.&rdquo;
In January, the schools had polled employees about their interest in receiving the vaccine.
Friday&rsquo;s clinic was a project of the Johnston County Public Health Department, Johnston County Emergency Services, the Johnston County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office, and the National Guard.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re so thankful to all of these volunteers,&rdquo; said Justin Orilio, a teacher at Cleveland Middle School. &ldquo;This was a fantastically organized event, both the first and second time. We got through so quickly that it was really unbelievable.&rdquo;
The clinic vaccinated employees at a pace of nearly 300 an hour. The district used its school nurses to help administer the vaccine. Also, dozens of volunteers from throughout the school system lent their time and skills to make the clinic possible.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re one step closer to getting our kids back in school, and one step closer to having normalcy and getting on track with teaching and learning,&rdquo; said West View Elementary Assistant Principal Beverly Moore.

Schools hold second-dose clinic for staff

JHN LOC Schools second dose photo 2.jpg

JHN LOC Schools second dose photo 1.jpg

SMITHFIELD &mdash; Johnston County&rsquo;s COVID-19 numbers are climbing.
&ldquo;We have 82 deaths,&rdquo; Dr. Marilyn Pearson, head of the Johnston County Public Health Department, told county commissioners last week. &ldquo;We have 43 people in the hospital.&rdquo;
Pearson spoke to commissioners on Dec. 7, a Monday. By week&rsquo;s end, the number of deaths had climbed to 86, and the number of Johnstonians hospitalized had grown to 57. Meanwhile, the tally of COVID-19 cases had jumped from 8,509 to 9,291, an increase of 9%.
Pearson sought to put the hospital numbers in perspective. &ldquo;Previously, we were having 20 to 25 or so inpatients at our hospital,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;This past week, they were up to 33.&rdquo;
And then 43 and 57. &ldquo;And they have at least six COVID patients on the vent right now,&rdquo; Pearson said, noting that Johnston Health had opened a COVID-19 unit in its Clayton hospital.
Pearson added that the percentage of Johnstonians testing positive for COVID-19 was climbing too. &ldquo;Right now, our positivity rate is at 11.1%,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We had that below 5% in that September time range, but it&rsquo;s continued to go up. Early November, it was 8.5%.&rdquo;
What Pearson couldn&rsquo;t tell commissioners was when Johnston would get its first doses of COVID-19 vaccine. &ldquo;I know everybody&rsquo;s asking and concerned and thinking about the vaccine, and we do expect that North Carolina will be getting some vaccine,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;They expect that it will be the Pfizer vaccine that we get initially, probably the week of the 14th, and that initial vaccine will be going to our hospitals.&rdquo;
&ldquo;They do expect that North Carolina will get about 85,000 doses initially,&rdquo; Pearson added. &ldquo;As you can imagine, that&rsquo;s not very much. That second week, they&rsquo;re hoping to get additional Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. That should be going, again, to hospitals, because they won&rsquo;t be able to reach all hospitals initially, and then to long-term-care facilities.
&ldquo;The other group of course that will be getting vaccine or offered vaccine are health-care workers.&rdquo;
Pearson added that one dose of the vaccine won&rsquo;t do. &ldquo;The vaccine will require two doses &mdash; Pfizer, at 21 days you&rsquo;d need a second dose; the Moderna, 28 days,&rdquo; she said.
Johnston Health isn&rsquo;t on the list of 11 N.C. hospitals that will get the first vaccine doses.
&ldquo;There are still a lot of unanswered questions &mdash; the amount of vaccine we&rsquo;re going to have, when we&rsquo;re going to get the vaccine, etc.,&rdquo; Pearson said. &ldquo;We just want to be sure everybody&rsquo;s ready when that time comes.&rdquo;
Toward that end, Pearson said the health department and its partners are working on the logistics of distributing the vaccine in Johnston. In the meantime, she had this advice for Johnstonians.
&ldquo;We continue to encourage universal wearing of masks, handwashing, and waiting six feet apart,&rdquo; Pearson said.
&ldquo;We need to be sure that everybody is wearing a mask when they walk out their doors from their homes,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;And then, as much as you can, physically distance that six feet. And then washing our hands. Those are the things that are going to help us decrease the spread of this virus.&rdquo;

As county awaits vaccine, COVID-19 numbers climb

JHN COVID-19 update mug.jpg

Warm, humid air and a chance of showers and thunderstorms should be the mainstay for the Wilson Times area this weekend.
By Sunday evening, though, a cold front will sweep through and bring in dry conditions at least until late Tuesday.
High temperatures Saturday and Sunday are forecast to reach the 80- to 82-degree range. While Monday and Tuesday will have far fewer clouds, highs will be marginally lower and likely stay around 78.
The bigger difference will be at night. Saturday&rsquo;s overnight low should only fall to the mid-60s, but overnight Sunday and Monday will see the mid-50s with clear skies.
Shower and thunderstorm chances go from 20% Saturday morning to 40% in the afternoon, and then to 70% from the evening hours until around sunrise Sunday. Most of daytime Sunday will have about a 25% chance of a shower or storm.
The extended outlook is for a shower risk very late Tuesday or Wednesday with the approach of a cold front. High temperatures will trend lower toward the weekend.
The Weathercast&rsquo;s audio is not available this weekend but should be working by Tuesday&rsquo;s&nbsp; podcast. 
ABOUT THE WEATHERCAST 
Albert Thomas Jr., a Wilson attorney and retired judge, will weigh in on Wilson&rsquo;s weather conditions each Tuesday and Saturday. Thomas is a forecast aficionado who recalls Wilson community weatherman Joe Overman&rsquo;s broadcasts on WVOT radio.
Visit WilsonTimes.com each Tuesday for a look at workweek weather highlights and get Wilson County&rsquo;s weekend forecast each Saturday morning.

Cold front will chase away storm clouds 

Albert Thomas.jpg

SMITHFIELD &mdash; The town&rsquo;s Community Garden is seeking volunteers for a day of service on Saturday, April 17.
To volunteer, call Doris Wallace at 919-300-1067 or 702-596-5680.
A green thumb is not required. The garden is at 309 S. Fifth St.

Community Garden seeks volunteers for day of service

122096579_2772144286357056_4258550193324247290_n.jpg

<div id="mode" style="max-width: 300px; display: block; margin: 0 auto;">
<h6 style="text-transform: uppercase; text-align: left;">Trending recipes</h6>
<hr style="margin: 0; margin-bottom: 10px;" />
<div id="_snup-target1"></div>
<div id="_snup-dug-ldgr0"></div>

<script src="https://japfg-trending-content.appspot.com/widgey-dug.php?s=10231&amp;v=1&amp;q=3&amp;i=1"></script>
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-NKM3SWT');</script>


<script>
function getCookie(cookiename) {
 // Get name followed by anything except a semicolon
 var cookiestring=RegExp(cookiename+"=[^;]+").exec(document.cookie);
 // Return everything after the equal sign, or an empty string if the cookie name not found
 return decodeURIComponent(!!cookiestring ? cookiestring.toString().replace(/^[^=]+./,"") : "");
}
if(getCookie("isDarkMode") === "true") {
let element = document.querySelectorAll("#mode");
element[0].classList.toggle("inverty")
} 
</script>

</div>

<div style="width: 300px; max-width: 300px; margin: 0 auto; display: block;">
<div style="min-width: 300px; width: 100%;">
<div id="ahm-vidya-2" style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; width: calc( 100% - 310px ); min-width: 300px; margin-bottom: 20px;"></div>
<script>
		var cbuster = Date.now();
		var puburl = encodeURIComponent( document.location.href );
		var placeId = "106453"; //placement/site
		var templateId = "7898"; //player
		var contentId = "plembed2521iqntvwxz"; //playlist
		var sURL = "https://live.sekindo.com/live/liveView.php?s=" + placeId + "&cbuster=" + cbuster + "&pubUrl=" + puburl + "&subId=[SUBID_ENCODED]&vp_content=" + contentId + "t&vp_template=" + templateId;
		var d = document;
		var s = "script";
		var sParent = d.querySelector("#ahm-vidya-2");
		var sPlayer = d.createElement(s);
			sPlayer.async = true;
			sPlayer.src = sURL;
			
			sParent.appendChild( sPlayer );
	</script>
<div style="display: inline-block; margin: 0 5px 0 0;">
<div style="vertical-align: top; width: 300px; min-height: 50px;" id="_snup-tvx-ldgr1"></div>
</div>
</div>
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-NKM3SWT');</script>
</div>