Will smokers get vaccinated before the general public? Here’s what SC DHEC says
As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out across the nation, some states have included people who smoke in a group of early vaccine receivers with preexisting health conditions that leave them with an increased risk of illness due to COVID-19.
But in South Carolina, health officials are still undecided on whether smokers will fall into an early stage of vaccine distribution before the general public.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people ages 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions that increase the likelihood of a serious reaction to the coronavirus be included in Phase 1C of states’ vaccine roll out plans. Those conditions include smoking, alongside a range of illnesses including cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart conditions and being immunocompromised.
A study published in January showed that people who smoke or used to smoke are more likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19.
In some states, health officials followed the CDC’s guidance, giving priority to people who smoke when it comes to vaccine distribution. In January, smokers in New Jersey were able to sign up to get vaccinated. Mississippi also included smokers in the list of those eligible to receive the vaccine.
But in South Carolina, which is still in its first phases of distributing the vaccine, the question of whether smokers will receive priority still lingers.
“We’re aware the CDC includes ‘smoking’ among numerous conditions that increase the risk for COVID-19 complications,” Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesperson Laura Renwick said in an email. “South Carolina hasn’t drafted recommendations in regard to smokers at this time.”
Renwick said DHEC had finalized and adopted guidance only for who should be included in vaccine Phase 1A, which includes long term care facility residents, those 65 and older and staff and healthcare workers.
DHEC may face some pushback if they include smokers in Phase 1C.
S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, a Beaufort Republican who has been very active in the Legislature when it comes to vaccine initiatives, said he would need strong arguments in favor of including smokers in an early vaccine phase in order to support it.
“Giving somebody preferential treatment for a condition they voluntarily inflict on themselves gives me pause,” Davis said.
Davis added that he is in favor of people with other medical conditions they didn’t necessarily have control over getting priority when it comes to the vaccine.
South Carolina’s vaccine plan is ever-changing due to the influence of the governor and the Legislature. The state health agencies early plan, including sections on who should be vaccinated when and how long the state should wait before moving to a new group, has been uprooted.
For example, in early January, when state health officials were allowing only frontline medical workers to get vaccinated, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster expressed frustration with the speed at which vaccine distribution was going. McMaster declared the state would no longer follow CDC recommendations to wait to move to the next phase until 70% of the current phase have had the chance to be vaccinated and said the state would set a hard deadline for members of phase 1A to get vaccinated.
One day later, DHEC announced that it would adopt that deadline, and days after that, they opened up vaccine appointments to South Carolinians 70 and older.
Recently, fighting over who should be eligible to receive the vaccine has made its way to the state Legislature. There, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey championed a measure that would allow teachers to be included in phase 1A of vaccine distribution. Currently, teachers are included in phase 1B, which is projected to begin in “early spring.”
McMaster is vehemently opposed to the Senate proposal, calling teachers’ push to get vaccinated sooner rather than later “unethical, immoral and absolutely unacceptable.”
“If we allow teachers to jump the line, we are taking vaccines from our most vulnerable population who are dying from this virus,” McMaster tweeted.
The Senate’s proposal, aimed at getting teachers back into classrooms, passed the chamber unanimously Tuesday.
What are SC’s vaccine phases?
South Carolina’s vaccine phases are ever-changing. Here’s what state health officials currently recommend:
Phase 1a: Healthcare workers, those 65 and older and long term care facility residents and staff.
Phase 1b: Frontline essential workers like firefighters, law enforcement, corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, postal workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store employees, public transit workers, daycare workers, teachers and other school staff.
Phase 1c: People aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions that put them at “high risk for severe disease” and other essential workers like those who work in transportation, food service, housing construction, finance, IT, communications, energy, law, media and public safety.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Will smokers get vaccinated before the general public? Here’s what SC DHEC says."
