COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Feb. 5

We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.

Over 2,700 new cases reported

At least 408,707 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina since March and 6,770 have died, according to state health officials.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Friday reported 2,745 new COVID-19 cases, up from 1,649 reported the day before.

Fifty additional deaths were reported Friday.

At least 1,637 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus in South Carolina as of Friday. A total of 779,610 COVID vaccine doses had been delivered to the state as of Friday, and 483,506 shots had been administered.

As of Friday, 11.2% of COVID-19 tests were positive. Health officials have said that number should be closer to 5% to control the spread of the virus.

Vaccine sign-up help is ‘saving us from dying’

With many struggling to sign up to get a COVID-19 vaccine, some South Carolina hospitals are launching initiatives to help people navigate the often difficult process, the Island Packet reported.

Many hospitals rely on the Vaccine Administration Management System, VAMS, which doubles as an appointment scheduling tool — but not a user-friendly one.

“Nobody could register in VAMS,” said Lisa Hensley, Hilton Head Regional Healthcare system’s market director of clinical informatics. Patients “had given up (on) getting the vaccine because the technical aspects were difficult to navigate.”

The health care system’s initiative to assist Lowcountry seniors with technology challenges has so far shepherded more than 200 people through the registration process.

Anna Maria Tabernik, a Sun City resident board member, recently partnered with Hilton Head Regional to hold a public event in which health workers created email accounts for residents and registered them to be vaccinated using VAMS.

“When you have people in their late 70s, 80s, 90s, they’re not running around with smartphones, they don’t have laptops, they don’t have iPads, so they can’t even ... some of them don’t have an email, so forget about VAMS for them,” Tabernik said.

The initiative has since expanded, with events held at community centers around the area.

“You’re saving us from dying,” one resident told Tabernik.

Meanwhile, the state is trying to make VAMS easier to use and has launched a help line of its own, which can be reached at 866-365-8110.

New DHEC director open to changing vaccine priority list

The state Department of Health and Environmental Control’s new director says South Carolina should consider changing how it prioritizes who gets a COVID-19 vaccine first, The State reported.

The current vaccination plan relies on population size, and counties determining how many doses they need per capita. Critics say that it doesn’t take other important factors into consideration, like which communities have higher proportions of vulnerable populations.

“We need to get the vaccine to where people are who need the vaccine,’’ Edward Simmer said. “I do think we need to look at not just .... total population, but what is the total eligible population at that point in time.’’

Simmer said he will look to the legislature to make changes, and if they don’t, he will discuss making changes with the DHEC board.

The director also said he sees teachers and school staff as high priority, but didn’t go as far as saying they should come out ahead of elderly populations who are already eligible.

“We have to balance that with who doesn’t get the vaccine if we prioritize them,’’ Simmer said. “That’s what we really need to look at. I think we’re doing that now. We don’t have a final answer yet. But that’s going to be the question..’’

57% of Beaufort Co. school employees say they want vaccine

A recent survey sent out by the Beaufort County School District to employees found that 57% want to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, the Island Packet reported.

However, the true percentage may be higher, as only 2,208 staff out of 3,000 responded to the survey, or about 73% of the district’s workforce, Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said. Of those who responded, 77% said they would get vaccinated.

While teachers likely won’t be eligible to receive the vaccine until phase 1b of South Carolina’s vaccination plan, expected to start in the spring, the school district is already preparing.

According to Rodriguez, the district has shared employee contact info with local hospitals.

Beaufort Memorial Hospital CEO Russell Baxley said that when the time comes, he will work with Rodriguez to hold mass vaccination events at school sites.

SC officials push schools to resume in-person classes

For months, state Department of Education officials have told schools to consider COVID-19 spread in their communities when deciding whether to hold classes in-person or remotely.

But not anymore.

Despite worries that schools would become hotbeds of coronavirus activity, Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said Thursday that new evidence shows they are safe environments, if proper precautions are taken.

“Supporting studies have found schools to be safe when they’re following key mitigation strategies and they’re implemented consistently,” Spearman said, pointing to a study by a Medical University of South Carolina pediatrician.

“We know now you can operate schools safely even when there’s high spread in communities,” she added.

Over half of schools in the state, 646 of them, already offer in-person classes five days a week. Most of the rest have hybrid models in place, while a small number are purely remote.

The lack of consistent, in-person education and interaction is negatively impacting South Carolina students’ learning, particularly among younger students, Spearman said. The longer schools wait to resume normal teaching, the farther behind students fall.

“South Carolina cannot afford to delay going back to school any longer,” Spearman said. “Face-to-face instruction is vital for families and communities, and action has to be taken.”

McMaster wants seniors vaccinated before teachers

Gov. Henry McMaster spoke out in opposition of a joint resolution introduced Wednesday that would add teachers to phase 1a of the state’s vaccination plan.

South Carolina’s seniors are the most at risk against COVID-19, and should be prioritized over teachers and school support staff, he said.

“It is clearly the older people who are at risk and we are not going to take a single vaccination from those who are likely to die from this virus to give to someone who is not likely to die from the virus,” the governor said Thursday at a joint news conference with state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. “It would be unethical and immoral to do that.”

Under the current plan, teachers will be eligible for vaccination under phase 1b, expected to begin in the Spring.

This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 6:37 AM.