COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on May 3
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases exceed 483,000
At least 483,317 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina and 8,383 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 398 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, down from 456 reported the day before.
Four coronavirus-related deaths were reported.
At least 409 people were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus on Monday, with 105 patients in the ICU.
As of Monday, 4.3% of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower indicates a low risk of community spread.
More than 1.3 million South Carolina residents, or about 32%, have completed vaccination as of Saturday, and more than 1.7 million, or about 42%, have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Midlands school board to consider changing student mask rules
As pressure mounts to do away with face mask rules, the Lexington-Richland 5 school board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to hear public comment and discuss its student mask policy, The State reported.
Gov. Henry McMaster said last week that requiring students to wear masks is the “height of ridiculosity.” However, the state Department of Education maintains it will not change its stance that students cover their faces for the rest of the school year during in-person classes.
Some parents have been asking individual school districts be allowed to decide for themselves.
More women than men getting vaccinated in SC
South Carolina men lag far behind women when it comes to getting vaccinated against COVID-19, state data shows.
Around 44.5% of eligible women have received at least one dose of the vaccine compared with 34.5% of eligible men, The Sun News reports, citing the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
This trend held true in Horry County, where nearly 50% of women have gotten shots while only about 43% of men have received theirs. Health officials are surprised, however, and attributed the disparity to women being more proactive about their health.
“The United States is similar to other countries where men may be more stoic and may be less likely to talk about sensitive issues or concerns they have with their health,” said Rachel Mayo, a public health professor at Clemson University.
SC sees drop in demand for coronavirus vaccine
Gone are the days of residents scrambling to secure a COVID-19 shot. Now, South Carolina health officials say appointment slots are going unfilled due to a significant slowdown in demand, The State reported.
“Remember the early days where people would talk about (how) they’d drive an hour, two hours to get to some place to get that precious appointment and get vaccinated?” assistant state epidemiologist Jane Kelly said. “We may now be entering an era where people are not as willing or not able to do something as dramatic as that, so we need to bring vaccine to the people.”
This week, the state only ordered 47,000, or about 33%, of the 141,000 doses allotted to South Carolina.
Public health officials are now working to pinpoint reasons for the dwindling demand in coronavirus shots.
Will SC be stuck with COVID-19 forever? Experts weigh in
The coronavirus will be around for years to come even if South Carolina reaches an initial threshold for herd immunity, health experts told The Island Packet.
But the virus is expected to become an endemic in which its transmission will regularly increase and decrease similar to seasonal flu viruses.
“We should focus on taming the virus and making sure we can live with it and minimize its impact come next winter,” Ali H. Mokdad, a professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told The Island Packet. “We cannot eradicate COVID ... we want COVID to become like any other disease or respiratory virus that we can deal with on a yearly basis.”
Herd immunity in South Carolina is a moving target, so residents of the state may have to deal with it again and again. But experts say that’s not a reason to panic, and that the virus could become just a wintertime nuisance.
Mokdad said the goal is to reach a point where those vulnerable are protected and where outbreaks are contained quickly and hospitals aren’t put under strain by outbreaks.
“I do think it will become endemic,” Dr. Jane Kelly, assistant state epidemiologist at the DHEC, said. “What does endemic mean? It means that it’s ever-present. It continues to circulate, just like the common cold.”
COVID spread drops to low levels in SC
The spread of the coronavirus in South Carolina is low again after two weeks of being elevated.
Between April 25 and May 1, DHEC reported 4.74% of COVID-19 tests came back positive — below the 5% rate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says indicates the virus spread is slowing in a community.
The DHEC also reported 3,156 new cases of the virus during the same week, down from the previous two weeks and an average of 451 cases a day.
Almost 200,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered last week in South Carolina, DHEC reported.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 7:38 AM.
