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Amid an uptick of reported COVID-19-related deaths caused by the delayed arrival of death certificates from other counties, Beaufort County surpassed 100 deaths within the past week.

The county’s weekly COVID-19 update shows that there was three COVID-19-related deaths reported this week, raising the death toll to 101. Beaufort County also recorded 15 new COVID-19 cases and 17 recoveries in that same time frame.

Per the weekly report, health officials knew of 34 active cases among county residents as of Friday; that’s five less than the week prior. Five of those people were hospitalized. None were on a ventilator.

The Beaufort County Health Department has plenty of appointments available for those wishing to sign up to receive the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. To set up an appointment, call 252-940-6150 or visit https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=21631584.

As of Friday, approximately 54% of Beaufort County’s adult population and 43.5% its total population had been at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for ages 12-17; 5.2% of that age group in Beaufort County has been at least partially vaccinated.

Less than half of North Carolinians have been vaccinated. The Associated Press reported that North Carolina ranks 12th-worst in the nation in vaccines administered per capita.

President Joe Biden urged people to get vaccinated during a visit to Raleigh on Thursday.

“Folks, there is no reason to leave yourself vulnerable to the deadly virus for one single day more,” Biden said.