Who in SC gets the first COVID-19 vaccines when they’re available? DHEC releases plan
A little over a month after announcing it was developing plans to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available, South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control released its first version of the plan Friday.
The 42-page document, drafted in consultation with several state agencies and the National Guard and the S.C. Hospital Association, states that health care workers who could possibly be exposed to the novel coronavirus will get first priority in receiving any vaccine that is approved.
DHEC state epidemiologist Linda Bell, speaking with reporters on a conference call Friday, said any vaccine that is approved is almost certain to be in limited supply at first, making decisions on who gets priority necessary.
“Not everyone who wants a vaccine initially will be able to get one. When the vaccine is first available, those limited supplies will be reserved for those who are at highest risk of either getting COVID-19, being exposed to it or potentially spreading it, as well as other critical infrastructure workers,” Bell said, adding the nursing home residents will also be among the first to have access to any vaccine.
In DHEC’s plan, that “Phase 1” when supplies are limited is split into two parts — in Phase 1-A, “paid and unpaid people serving in health care settings who can potentially or indirectly expose patients or infectious materials and are unable to work from home” will get the vaccine. In Phase 1-B, access to the vaccine will be broadened to “people who play a crucial role in sustaining essential functions of society running and cannot socially distance in the workplace ... and people at increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness, including people 65 years of age or older.”
Who exactly will count as essential infrastructure workers will be defined by federal health officials, Bell said.
One group who might not be included in the first wave of immunizations is children, as assistant state epidemiologist Jane Kelly noted that almost all of the vaccines in the late stages of study have been tested on adults and officials will need to see safety and efficacy data for children first.
Phase 2 of DHEC’s plan would take effect when there are enough doses to meet demand, making the vaccine available to everyone and pushing to administer it through public health events as well as doctor’s offices and pharmacies. Phase 3 would have open access to the vaccine and a shift to routine strategy, with public health events as needed.
But when Phase 1 will begin, or even how long each phase will last remains unknown, Bell admitted Friday.
“It’s entirely dependent on the progress with the availability of various vaccine products, and the amount of the inventory that will be made available to the state. The federal government will make decisions about the allocation of the available vaccine to each state and how long we remain in one phase will be dependent on that vaccine production,” Bell said. “There are estimates, and they’re really represented as what is supposed to occur at various phases. But at this time, we don’t have timelines for the duration of each of those phases.”
DHEC’s plan does note that the FDA could grant emergency approval for a vaccine as soon as November.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 5:12 PM.
