North Carolina hit a major benchmark this week, as half of adults age 18 and over have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“This is a significant milestone toward our goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19 and bringing summer back to North Carolina,” said the state’s Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen in a press release.

According to data from DHHS, 50.1 percent of adults age 18 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 43.1 percent are fully vaccinated. Nearly 75 percent of adults age 65 and older in North Carolina are fully vaccinated.

This benchmark comes as North Carolina prepares to lift the majority of its COVID-19 regulations and restrictions. Governor Roy Cooper said the state is targeting June 1 as the date to lift all mandatory social distancing, capacity and mass gathering restrictions.

Last week, Cooper signed an executive order that lifted the outdoor mask mandate across the state. However, the indoor face mask mandate will remain in place until at least two-thirds of adults in North Carolina have received at least one vaccine dose and if COVID-19 trends remain stable.

While June 1 is still the target date to lift many of the restrictions, Cooper acknowledged that the indoor face mask mandate likely will not get lifted at that date.

“That is the plan,” Cooper previously said, “It would be great if we had two-thirds vaccinated by then, but we probably won’t, [so] we will still on June 1 continue the indoor mask mandate. When we get to two-thirds vaccinated, we’re hoping to lift the indoor mask mandate. That’s our goal and we look forward to that day.”

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