Who gets coronavirus vaccine? New DHEC chief open to changing priorities
South Carolina’s new health department chief said Friday the state may need to change its priorities on how much vaccine is distributed to small counties, saying more than county population should be considered in handing out COVID 19 shots.
In his first interview with the media since he was recommended for the job in December, Edward Simmer said changes depend on whether state lawmakers pass legislation requiring other factors to be looked at in distributing the vaccine and who gets shots first.
If not, he’ll discuss making changes to the vaccination distribution effort with the Department of Health and Environmental Control board, Simmer told The State.
“We need to get the vaccine to where people are who need the vaccine,’’ said Simmer, whose first day on the job was Friday. “I do think we need to look at not just .... total population, but what is the total eligible population at that point in time.’’
DHEC’s formula for distributing vaccines has been criticized as being too rigid. It relies on the size of counties to determine, per capita, how many vaccines should be distributed.
But critics say it does not take into account other factors, such as whether some counties have higher populations of elderly people or African Americans.
Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said this past week that the plan for distributing vaccines concerns him.
“We’ve got some counties where the older population, the population greater than 65 years of age, is substantially higher than other counties,’’ Hutto said during a confirmation hearing Tuesday for Simmer.
Hutto said statistics he’s seen show that the aging population of tiny McCormick County, for instance, is 21% of the total population. But in Greenville County, it’s 9%, he said. DHEC data reviewed by The State show that some small counties have had higher per capita deaths than large counties.
Critics also have questioned why the part-time, politically appointed DHEC board decided on the plan to go by population, instead of including other factors. Asked if he thinks the board — or the staff at DHEC — should make a decision to change the distribution priorities, Simmer said “we would work with the board on that.’’
During his 15-minute interview with The State, Simmer said he favors prioritizing the 120,000 teachers and school personnel for vaccinations, but he stopped short of saying they should be put ahead of elderly populations now eligible for coronavirus shots. It’s a question now under consideration, he said.
“We have to balance that with who doesn’t get the vaccine if we prioritize them,’’ Simmer said of teachers. “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..’’
Gov. Henry McMaster doesn’t like the idea of moving teachers ahead of senior citizens, saying seniors should be a priority because people in their age group are most at risk from the coronavirus. As it stands, teachers would not likely get the vaccine until early spring, based on the state’s priority list.
Asked about how people in poorer, more remote areas of the state can get the vaccine, Simmer said he favors DHEC working with local organizations and officials to provide vaccinations to people who are eligible.
“A lot of it will be us partnering with community groups who are there on the ground, working with local medical teams, to provide the vaccine because that will greatly extend our reach,’’ he said. “I think people are often more comfortable getting the vaccines from people they live with, and people who are in their community who they know. I think that’s going to be our best approach.’’
Simmer did not rule out sending DHEC staff directly into some communities to provide vaccinations.
“We need to make sure we have trained people who are able to provide the vaccine, and that we’re finding people where they are,’’ Simmer said. “We need to take the vaccine to them, not ask them to come to us. If that requires DHEC staff, then we’ll send DHEC staff.’’
Simmer, who said he was not recruited for the DHEC job, took charge of the agency Friday, a day after the Senate confirmed him on a 40-1 vote.
A psychiatrist and career Navy man, Simmer has had more than 30 years experience in military health care, ranging from counseling shell-shocked sailors to running military hospitals. His last assignment was with the TRICARE health plan, a type of military insurance program.
DHEC is one of the few combined health and environmental agencies in the country. It provides a variety of services, including protecting the public from pandemics, like the coronavirus, to issuing birth certificates and deciding on pollution discharge permits. The agency has more than 4,000 full-time, part-time and temporary employees.
In addition to Simmer’s remarks about the coronavirus response, he also said climate change poses a threat to South Carolina’s landscape and citizens’ health in coming years.
Simmer, whose background does not included environmental regulation, said he favors weighing climate change in making agency decisions. It’s an issue that state agencies have sometimes been hesitant to openly deal with, fearing political backlash from the business community and politicians.
“Climate change is something we need to address; it’s absolutely a major concern,’’ Simmer said. “We’ve seen the impact of climate change on things like tropical storms, the risk of severe flooding in our coastal areas, and there’s also concern with our agricultural areas — that changes what we grow, that changes rainfall patterns.’’
Simmer said severe flooding caused by the shifting climate can expose communities to illness.
“The flood waters have toxic material or you end up living in a home with mold. That can have very significant health effects,’’ he said.
During Friday’s interview, Simmer, 56, said he did not seek the DHEC job as a gateway to retirement. He owns a home in Beaufort. He said he expects to be at DHEC at least four years, which is his term in office, but would be willing to stay longer.
“I’m certainly open to staying beyond four years, I would like to stay beyond four years,’’ he said. “This is an outstanding opportunity to take care of people in my adopted state, and I very much want to do that.’’
The director’s job has been a source of turnover in recent years. Simmer is the fourth agency director since 2012. The previous DHEC director, Rick Toomey, resigned during the middle of the coronavirus pandemic after less than two years on the job. Like Simmer, he was also a retired health care official when he took the job in late 2018.
Staff Writer Zak Koeske contributed.. This story has been updated.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 12:27 PM.
