SC residents 70 and up can schedule COVID vaccine appointments Wednesday. Here’s how
As part of their continued effort to speed up the pace of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and state health officials Monday announced that all South Carolina residents age 70 and older will soon be able to schedule vaccination appointments.
The state’s seniors, who previously had been slated for vaccination in late winter, may now schedule their first COVID-19 vaccine shot starting Wednesday, the Governor’s Office announced.
“When evaluating supply versus demand and as the rate of vaccines coming into the state increases compared to the rate of appointments being scheduled, we believe it is appropriate to begin scheduling appointments for additional South Carolinians,” said Brannon Traxler, interim director of public health for the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The age cutoff was chosen based on the state’s COVID-19 mortality rate, which is approximately 655 deaths per 100,000 people for those age 70 and older, but only 37 deaths per 100,000 for those under 70, according to DHEC.
“This is a staggering comparison and illustrates why vaccinating this population next is critically important in our mission to save lives,” Traxler said.
Health officials said approximately 627,800 state residents are 70 or older and that many already had received the vaccine through their inclusion in Phase 1a, which encompasses roughly 350,000 frontline health care workers and long-term care facility residents and staff.
The change in vaccination guidance comes as the state health agency continues to face criticism from lawmakers about the pace of the vaccine rollout, which, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been one of the slowest in the country.
As of Monday, South Carolina had administered 82,266 of the 146,500 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine it had received, a per capita administration rate that ranks 47th out of 50 states, according to the CDC.
DHEC has modified numerous aspects of its original vaccination plan in recent days at the urging of the Governor’s Office and frustrated hospital executives, who said they’ve been hamstrung by red tape.
In the past two weeks, the agency has broadened and clarified the categories of health care workers included in Phase 1a, set a Jan. 15 deadline for eligible health care workers to schedule a vaccination appointment and told hospitals to begin offering the vaccine to inpatients 65 and older who don’t currently have COVID-19 to expedite the inoculation of South Carolina’s most vulnerable residents.
DHEC also has revised its criteria for when the state will transition to the next phase of vaccinations (Phase 1b), using data on the number of doses received and administered, and the number of appointments scheduled.
Health officials said Monday that those changes had significantly accelerated the rollout and expressed confidence that the majority of people in Phase 1a who want to be vaccinated either have already received a dose or are scheduled to get one soon.
Nearly 95,000 people in the Phase 1a grouping are currently scheduled to be vaccinated in the next several weeks, DHEC said.
“Because we’ve seen a dramatic acceleration in vaccine usage and appointments in the last week, we have decided to speed things up again,” McMaster said in a statement Monday. “We know that those 70 and older are at the greatest risk of dying from COVID-19. Making sure they have expedited access to the vaccine will help save lives.”
While residents 70 and older may begin scheduling vaccination appointments Wednesday, it remains to be seen when they’ll be able to get their first doses.
There will be far more people eligible to schedule an appointment than there is vaccine available in the state, so getting in for an appointment will depend on the demand and the availability at individual provider locations, DHEC officials said.
“If you are not successful at getting an appointment initially, just keep trying and you’ll get your appointment,” Traxler said.
Those eligible to receive a vaccination can find a location near them using DHEC’s newly released online locator tool at www.scdhec.gov/vaxlocator or by calling the DHEC Care Line at 1-855-472-3432, which currently includes several major hospitals, seven DHEC sites, a DHEC mobile clinic and 12 Doctor’s Cares locations.
Residents are required to make an appointment before receiving the vaccine and will be asked to provide a driver’s license or other form of ID at their appointment that confirms their age, DHEC said.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 12:54 PM.