SC expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and older
All South Carolinians age 16 and older will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine shot by the end of the month.
With vaccine supply increasing and demand for shots waning, Gov. Henry McMaster and state health officials Friday made the decision to expand access to roughly 4 million South Carolinians beginning Wednesday, March 31.
The move pushes the state into the final phase of its vaccine rollout, known as Phase 2, more than a month ahead of schedule.
“Our priority with the vaccine has been to save the lives of those at the greatest risk of dying. By staying the course and resisting distractions, we’ve expanded South Carolinians’ access and eligibility for vaccinations faster than originally anticipated,” McMaster said in a statement. “Thanks to the tremendous efforts of our state’s health care professionals, we are now able to make the vaccine available to anyone who wants it, and to do so ahead of schedule.”
When South Carolina moved to Phase 1b on March 8, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials estimated the state wouldn’t kick off the final phase of vaccinations until May 3. They also had planned an intermediate phase, known as 1c, to start April 12 for anyone 45 and older and so-called essential workers.
The announcement Friday that South Carolina would bypass 1c and expand vaccine access to all people 16 and older comes as demand for shots has tailed off and a record number of doses flow into the state, DHEC officials said.
South Carolina will receive more than 160,000 first doses of vaccine next week, the state’s largest allotment to date. An additional 75,000 first doses will be shipped directly to large retail pharmacies, a 33% increase from the week prior due to the addition of Publix as a federal pharmacy partner.
As more doses flow into the state, fewer vaccine appointments are being filled, said Nick Davidson, DHEC senior deputy for public health.
Davidson said Friday that the number of clinics unable to fill their appointment slots had accelerated rapidly over the last several days, even as many residents still want and need the vaccine.
The agency, in consultation with the governor’s office, made the decision to expand vaccine access to anyone age 16 and older to ensure all appointments were being taken.
“It certainly is and will continue to be a balancing act of providing enough vaccine, but also providing enough access,” Davidson said.
Earlier this week, Davidson had said on a call with reporters that the agency was beginning to see an increase in available appointments around the state and was monitoring it closely.
At the time, he said the trend did not necessarily mean the state would be expanding vaccine access earlier than expected, although it was something health officials were considering.
“We will continue to work with our providers, to talk to our providers, to assess our own clinic availability and appointment availability, and if it warrants moving to 1c sooner than expected, we will certainly do that,” Davidson said Wednesday. “Right now, it’s pretty early. We’re beginning to see some of those indications and over the next few days I think we’ll be able to get in some more information that will be able to inform us better.”
Just two days after his comments, South Carolina has decided to not only expand vaccine access, but to open it up to anyone currently authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to receive the vaccine.
It will likely be challenging to find an appointment in the days immediately after vaccine eligibility expands next week, Davidson cautioned, while asking residents to remain patient as they attempt to schedule shots.
“No doubt that in the coming days and probably at least a couple weeks, the vaccine availability will be less,” he said.
Online appointments can be made using the agency’s vaccine locator tool or by calling its COVID-19 vaccine information line at 1-866-365-8110 for help.
Pfizer is the only vaccine brand currently authorized for emergency use in people age 16-18. Moderna, Janssen and Pfizer are authorized for those 18 and older. While none of the COVID-19 vaccines on the market are currently approved for people under the age of 16, preliminary clinical testing on children is underway.
Nearly 420,000 vaccine doses have been administered in South Carolina since the state moved into Phase 1b a little over two weeks ago, an average of more than 23,000 doses per day, DHEC officials said.
As of Friday, more than 28% of South Carolinians age 15 and older had received at least one dose and about 15% were fully vaccinated, data show.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 1:53 PM with the headline "SC expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and older."