Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Jan. 17
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases surpass 351,000
At least 351,887 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina since March, and 5,654 have died, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Sunday reported 4,584 new COVID-19 cases, down from 4,671 reported the day before.
Seventy-six additional deaths were reported Sunday.
As of Sunday, 23.5% of COVID-19 tests were positive. Health officials have said that number should be closer to 5% to control the spread of the virus.
At least 2,375 were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Sunday.
The DHEC on Saturday corrected the cases counts reported between Jan. 8 and 13, which were inaccurate due to a technical error. The correct case counts are as follows:
▪ Jan. 8: 6,824
▪ Jan. 9: 4,037
▪ Jan. 10: 3,318
▪ Jan. 11: 4,459
▪ Jan. 12: 3,668
▪ Jan. 13: 2,575
As of Sunday, South Carolina has received 313,100 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 154,995 of those doses had been administered, according to DHEC.
Hundreds get COVID-19 vaccine at state fairgrounds
Hundreds of people received the COVID-19 vaccine at an unpublicized mass vaccination clinic held by the DHEC on Friday at the state fairgrounds in Columbia, The State reported Saturday.
“We heard about it this morning when a friend texted us to say she had heard that DHEC was running the vaccination program at the fairgrounds for people over 70,” Jay Bender, an attorney who sometimes represents the South Carolina Press Association and The State newspaper, told The State.
A DHEC spokesperson confirmed the department held the event.
Laura Renwick initially told The State that the event was not open to the public and was intended for pre-scheduled first responders, but later clarified that some people without appointments received vaccinations.
Roughly 600 people were vaccinated during the clinic.
Hospitals receive less vaccine doses than requested
South Carolina hospitals will receive 20% to 25% of the first shot of COVID-19 vaccine doses they requested last week, the Island Packet reported Friday.
The number of first-shot Pfizer vaccine doses delivered to the state will be the same as it has been — 63,000 per week — but hospitals are asking for “four times that amount,” South Carolina Hospital Association president Thornton Kirby announced Friday.
Moderna and Pfizer recommend patients receive two separate shots of their vaccines, about three weeks apart. Hospitals will still receive 100% of the second-shot doses they have requested, Kirby said.
Beaufort Memorial Hospital says it must cancel more than 6,000 vaccination appointments through March 30, according to a Friday night press release. The hospital placed an order for 2,000 does of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be delivered early this week, but was notified Friday it will receive just 450 doses.
Both Horry County hospitals offering the COVID-19 shot to seniors have said more people want the vaccine than they have doses to give.
“At this moment, the only limiting factor is the availability of vaccine from the government. Like all South Carolina hospitals, we have been told to expect less vaccine — not more — in the coming weeks,” a Saturday press release from Tidelands Health read.
This story was originally published January 17, 2021 at 10:40 AM.
