More than half of NC adults now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than half of all North Carolina adults have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the state's Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday.

According to the NCDHHS COVID-19 dashboard, 50.1% of people 18 and older are at least partially vaccinated against the virus. More than 43% of the adult population is fully vaccinated against the virus.

"This is as significant milestone toward our goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19 and bringing summer back to North Carolina," said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen. "I hope you will join the more than 4 million people who have taken their shot and help put this pandemic behind us."

The state remains around 75% of the way to its goal of partially vaccinating two-thirds of adults in order to lift the indoor mask mandate. That rate has risen incrementally over the past two weeks.

RELATED: North Carolina's outdoor mask mandate lifts but indoor mask mandate continues

While the state marks the vaccine milestone, it is also trying to curb a decrease in vaccination demand. State data shows weekly vaccinations declining three straight weeks. With more than 350,000 doses given, last week's total vaccinations were the lowest since mid-February.

Health officials have pointed to waning urgency in getting the shot, striving to pivot away from mass vaccination events and host smaller sites at businesses and other venues where target groups, like younger people, frequent.

Mecklenburg Public Health has announced several upcoming events around the county over the course of May.

RELATED: Reaching people where they are: Vaccinations at breweries.

The 50% milestone also arrives as the state sees a further decline in its key COVID-19 metrics. After a brief rise following a post-winter-surge decline, cases, positivity rate and hospitalizations are trending back down.

Just over 1,000 people are in North Carolina hospitals, getting care for coronavirus. The positivity rate over the last two weeks is within the state's goal range of around 5%.

To contact Vanessa Ruffes, reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter, or via email at vruffes@wcnc.com.

Have a relative or friend in another state and want to know when they can get vaccinated? Visit NBC News' Plan Your Vaccine site to find out about each state's vaccine rollout plan.