Are you eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine because of your job? SC explains who qualifies
Wondering whether you’re eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina? You may be, after the state on March 8 dramatically expanded the number of people who can get a shot.
Figuring out whether you qualify, though, may be tricky when navigating the latest vaccination phase, which includes a confusing jumble of professions. Phase 1b eligibility isn’t based on job categories, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Here’s how it works:
‘Frontline worker’ broader than you think
Frontline essential workers who have “increased occupational risk” are included in Phase 1b, which began Monday.
DHEC defines these workers as people who must work in-person due to their jobs and have an increased risk of COVID-19 exposure because of their frequent, “close” (less than six feet apart) and “ongoing” (more than 15 minutes) contact with others.
Nick Davidson, DHEC’s senior deputy for public health, on Friday said Phase 1b “is not based on job categories, it’s based on risk.” DHEC, in other words, provides some examples of Phase 1b workers, but there’s no complete list of those who fall under this category. The state has said teachers, school staff, day care workers, grocery store employees and manufacturing workers, among others, are likely in Phase 1b.
“A person’s eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine isn’t based on a specific job or work sector,” according to DHEC. “If a person decides that they meet (the) job risk using the criteria above, they are eligible.”
The state isn’t requiring residents to bring proof of their employment to S.C. vaccine appointments.
“We’re asking people to be honest about what phase they’re in,” Davidson told reporters.
Here’s a relatively simple checklist for anyone wondering if they qualify as a frontline essential worker:
▪ Do you have to work in-person at your “place of work”?
▪ Do you have an increased risk of COVID-19 exposure while at work because of frequent, “close” and “ongoing” contact with others?
If you answer yes to both of these questions, then you qualify for Phase 1b, which includes an estimated 2.7 million people statewide, according to DHEC.
Other eligible groups
The following people also fall under Phase 1b:
▪ Residents aged 55 to 64. People 65 or older were eligible before Monday’s expansion.
▪ People 16 to 54 years old with one or more of the following medical conditions: cancer (current, not a history of cancer), chronic kidney disease (any stage), chronic lung disease, diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2), Down syndrome, heart disease (congestive heart disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy and pulmonary hypertension), HIV/AIDS, a solid organ transplant, obesity and sickle cell disease. More underlying conditions might be added to this list in the future, according to DHEC.
▪ Those with developmental or other severe high-risk disabilities that make “severe life-threatening illness or death from COVID-19 infection more likely.” Dr. Jane Kelly, assistant state epidemiologist, told reporters Friday that it isn’t possible to provide a full list of the disabilities that may fall under this category. “Some of these disabilities represent really rare congenital conditions, for example,” Kelly said. Not all disabilities, she added, “confer increased risk for severe disease.” Kelly cited blindness as an example.
▪ Anyone who is pregnant.
▪ Those at “increased risk” for COVID-19 in settings where people live and work in close contact, including at prisons, homeless shelters and group homes, among other places.
For more information go to https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccine or call 1-866-365-8110.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Are you eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine because of your job? SC explains who qualifies."
