Jennifer Fernandez | NC Health News

Charlotteans were among those who showed up at last week's rally at the state capitol. Organizers called it “a stark preview” of the potential future without affordable child care, underscoring the significant impact on North Carolina’s workforce and families.

Guilford County’s rate stood at 7.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021, the most recent year for which data are available. That’s higher than the state’s rate of 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births and the national rate of 5.4. It’s also higher than the rates in other large N.C. counties, according to Every Baby Guilford.

The $40 million paid by Juul when they settled the case will pay for e-cigarette cessation and prevention programs, data monitoring and more.

North Carolina is among about a dozen states with the smallest percentage of children ages 13-17 considered fully vaccinated against HPV, according to 2022 data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State health officials, alarmed by the growing number of cases, have launched a social media education campaign, a new website, and are working on other ways to reverse that trend.

The state’s Child Fatality Task Force is working on the topics and programs it will push legislators to tackle this year. Two issues are familiar, even though the group saw some success with advancing them last year.

North Carolina is also pursuing waivers to protect children further by keeping them enrolled longer before eligibility reviews, reducing the times children may temporarily lose coverage.

Overall, tips to the state about cyber child exploitation more than tripled from 2019 to 2022, and they are on track to grow this year, the State Bureau of Investigation said.

As the United States marked Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17) this year, North Carolina advocates and health care professionals from across the state met in Colfax to discuss solutions.