Coronavirus updates for Jan. 5: Here’s what to know in South Carolina this week
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in South Carolina. Check back each week for updates.
More than 10,000 new COVID cases in SC last week
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Wednesday, Jan. 4, reported 10,481 COVID-19 cases for the week ending Dec. 31 and three coronavirus-related deaths for the week ending Dec. 24.
The counts include probable and confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.
An estimated 1.7 million coronavirus cases have been reported in South Carolina, and nearly 18,850 people have died of the virus since March 2020, according to state health officials. Data show COVID-19 cases are up about 8% compared with this time last week.
As of Jan. 4, about 718 people in the state were hospitalized with the coronavirus (with 57 hospitals reporting), including 77 patients being treated in intensive care, the latest data show. Starting Dec. 20, the SC DHEC said its weekly COVID hospitalizations reporting would “no longer include data on ventilations and weekly hospital trends.”
The omicron subvariant BA.5 accounted for about 86% of coronavirus strains identified in South Carolina for the week ending Dec. 17, according to the latest available data.
The DHEC’s Public Health Laboratory conducts sequencing on randomly chosen samples as part of nationwide efforts to find out about new strains of the virus, the agency’s website reads.
Nearly 54% of eligible South Carolina residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly 63% have received at least one dose, the latest vaccination data shows.
Common diabetes drug shows promising results in preventing long COVID, study suggests
A medication used for diabetes could help lower the risk of long-term COVID-19 symptoms, a new drug trial finds. The trial included more than 1,100 patients who had a recent COVID-19 diagnosis.
Some participants received placebos, and others took drugs such as metformin, which is often prescribed for people with diabetes.
“The rate of long COVID was 42% lower among those who took metformin for the trial,” McClatchy News reported on Dec. 29. Also when compared to the control group, the rates of long COVID were close or higher for those who took two other drugs — ivermectin and fluvoxamine, according to pre-print study results.
More information about the trial, which involved researchers based at U.S. universities, is available here.