SC Gov. McMaster wants to expand COVID-19 vaccine access to people 65 and older
South Carolina may next expand the pool of those eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to include anyone age 65 and older.
Gov. Henry McMaster said Monday he believes that age group, which is currently included in Phase 1c and projected to become vaccine-eligible in late spring, should be next in line for shots in the arm.
McMaster did not provide an exact date for when he’d like to see vaccine access expanded, but said he’d like for it to happen as soon as possible.
“As soon as this flow seems to have steadied and we can accommodate it, then we’ll open it up to 65 and above,” he said.
When asked whether he supported prioritizing the vaccination of teachers, as state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, various teachers advocacy groups and lawmakers have requested, McMaster said he believed seniors should receive first preference.
“It is the older people we know that are most at risk,” he said at a press briefing outside Gamecock Park in Columbia. “The average age of death from the virus is 75 years old, so it is the older people that are most at risk and those are the ones that we must see have the early opportunity to get a vaccination.”
South Carolina, like all states, is not receiving enough vaccine from the federal government to keep up with demand from those currently eligible.
However, with about 10,000 more first doses of the Moderna vaccine expected to flow into the state in each of the next three weeks and another 40,000 surplus doses recently reallocated from the state’s long-term care facility reserve, administrations in South Carolina should soon be on the rise.
South Carolina last month updated its Phase 1a guidance to include anyone age 70 and older, but left those age 65-69 in Phase 1c, behind grocery store workers, public transit workers, teachers, police officers, firefighters and a number of other professions considered “frontline essential workers.”
Many other states already have opened eligibility to those 65 and older, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance last month recommending that anyone 65 and above should be eligible for a shot.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control’s vaccine advisory committee, which is responsible for setting the phases of the vaccine rollout and has been lobbied by various groups seeking faster access to the vaccine, had not previously indicated any intention of moving those 65 and older up in the queue.
A DHEC spokeswoman did not directly address McMaster’s comments, but said Monday the agency, in collaboration with the governor, would continue to make decisions that align with its goal of vaccinating South Carolinians “quickly, safely, equitably and ethically.”
“This includes when we’re able to expand the group of eligible people in South Carolina based on vaccine supply,” spokeswoman Cristi Moore said. “We are hopeful this will be soon.”
About 350,000 of the nearly 1 million South Carolinians eligible for vaccinations under Phase 1a had received at least one dose, as of Monday, according to DHEC data. Approximately 310,000 additional people would become eligible in South Carolina if residents age 65 to 69 were given vaccine access.
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 12:01 PM.