SC Gov. McMaster, first lady get 1st COVID vaccine doses months after positive tests
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and his wife, First Lady Peggy McMaster, both received their COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday, weeks after the two were required to quarantine when they tested positive for coronavirus.
“.@1stLadySC and I visited CVS Pharmacy in Columbia this morning to receive our first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. To those who want a shot, get your shot!” McMaster tweeted, posting two photos showing him and Peggy each receiving their COVID-19 vaccines.
McMaster said, after testing positive for COVID-19 last year, he chose to get the first shot to ensure he does not get it again.
As of Monday afternoon, the governor said he was not having any symptoms from the first shot.
“If you want one, go get one. If you don’t want one, then think about it. We’re going to be doing this for a while,” McMaster repeated to reporters on Monday. “It seems to be clear that these vaccines are safe. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have taken one.”
McMaster, 73, tested positive for COVID-19 in December, undergoing an antibody treatment to keep his symptoms from worsening.
Peggy had tested positive a week before but remained asymptomatic.
South Carolina has opened COVID-19 vaccinates to every South Carolinian 16 years and older.
McMaster did not immediately get his vaccine, however, because health officials stress that people who receive a Monoclonal antibody treatment after testing positive for COVID-19 should wait at least 90 days before receiving the vaccine.
More than 1.6 million South Carolinians have at least received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of the weekend, according to the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control. Yet only about 26.7% of eligible recipients have completed both doses.
South Carolinians can find a vaccine appointment at vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov.
McMaster told reporters on Monday he could understand why some might be hesitant to get the shot but said he wasn’t concerned.
“The performance of these shots has been good,” McMaster said. “But everybody will have to make up their own mind.”
This story was originally published April 19, 2021 at 1:33 PM.
