COVID surge ‘worst it has been’ in SC as McMaster, health leaders urge prevention
With the first phase of a COVID-19 vaccine on its way, a post-Thanksgiving holiday surge in positive virus cases has put South Carolina’s public health officials on high alert.
“We’re not near the end of this,” the state’s lead epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said Wednesday. “No one else should have to die from COVID-19. But, unfortunately, we will see more deaths.”
South Carolina’s Gov. Henry McMaster called Wednesday for “redoubling efforts” to stop the further spread, but stopped short once again of enacting any statewide mask mandate or other curfew rules that neighboring states, such as North Carolina, have implemented.
“It appears many people have let their guard down,” McMaster said. “I know we have fatigue from all of the things that we need to do, but now is not the time for us to let up.”
South Carolina’s public health agency once again logged more than 2,000 positive cases on Wednesday, making it the sixth straight day that new cases grew by more than 2,000 in the state. More than 230,000 South Carolinians have tested positive for the novel virus since March when the state first started to report positive cases and 4,289 have died, according to the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“With more than 13,900 South Carolinians last week alone being reported, that many cases in a single week makes this last week the worst it has been for us since the beginning of the pandemic,” Bell said.
Showing some optimism, however, health leaders and McMaster said that there’s “light at the end of the tunnel.”
State health officials said they remain confident that South Carolina will receive between 200,000 and 300,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine this month, but that the doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be limited. Those doses will only be the first round of doses out of a two-dose requirement. The second will be provided by the U.S. Centers and Disease Control and Prevention.
Though emergency use authorization for the vaccines is still pending by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Pfizer vaccine is expected to arrive by Dec. 14 and the Moderna vaccine should arrive the following week, officials said.
Both companies reported that their vaccines have been 95% effective during trials.
But even after vaccines are administered people will need to continue to wear masks, social distance and wash their hands frequently.
The vaccines will not be available to the general public at first.
Instead, they’ll be distributed in phases, with the first for frontline medical workers, long-term care residents and first responders.
That phase will be followed by workers who typically interact with the public, such as utility workers, trash and waste removal workers, bus drivers, food production workers, people who are 75 years and older and anyone with at least two underlying health conditions. Teachers, postal, childcare and food delivery workers, people who are 65 years and older and anyone with at least one health condition will be next, DHEC said.
The final phase, not expected until next year, will be for the rest of the state’s population.
“I want to caution everyone. This will not be a fast process,” McMaster said. “I want to caution everyone. This will be a slow process all over the country. Most South Carolinians will not be vaccinated for months. So, we’ve got to keep our guard up.”
Health officials also stressed that a vaccine is not a cure all for COVID-19.
Should South Carolinians fail to take necessary health guidelines seriously, the state could log another 1,000 COVID-19-related deaths by April. But the good news, Bell said, is if “we were able to implement 95% use of masks within a week that by that time in April we could actually avert an additional 1,000 deaths.”
Hospital leaders said now is the time for South Carolinians to heed safety protocols, including avoiding large gatherings, something common during the holiday season.
“We recognize that it is a difficult time for all,” said Dr. Stephen Shelton of Prisma Health. “Most of us recognize the fun times we’ve had with large gatherings with family and friends. However, we need to reflect on those that we put at risk for that. Our elderly family members, such as parents or grandparents, those with weak immune systems, those with chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity, lung disease, we’re putting all those individuals at risk.”
Asked why deaths, which have not yet exceeded daily totals reported earlier in the year, have not yet spiked, health officials said they still could, noting that spikes in deaths typically lag spikes in cases.
On Wednesday, the state reported 26 confirmed deaths.
Dr. David Cole, president of the Medical University of South Carolina, said he didn’t want to sound morbid on Wednesday.
“But stay tuned,” he said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 3:18 PM.
