We hope South Carolina has a happy, vaccinated, masked, socially-distanced New Year!

Dr. Edward Simmer, director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, said Friday morning that he and his wife will ring in the New Year via a virtual toast with friends. He suggests you do the same.

“We have to rely on people to do the right thing, to be responsible,” Simmer said during a 30-minute live question and answer session with the media.

As we enter our third calendar year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s up to each South Carolinian to make wise choices for themselves and for the community as a whole.

Simmer said he remains concerned about our healthcare workers and a strain on our state’s healthcare system as the highly-transmissible omicron variant moves through the population.

“Omicron spreads very easily,” Simmer said.

Simmer and Dr. Brannon Traxler, director of Public Health for the Department of Health and Environmental Control, told reporters that masking and vaccinations, as well as social distancing, remain the best protections against COVID-19 and both used the Friday morning session to continue to promote the need for more South Carolina residents to get “maximally vaccinated,” meaning having the initial course of the widely-available vaccination and the booster shot.

Their comments came as South Carolina set new case records.

“The one difference we have compared to a year ago is we have the vaccine,” Simmer said.

How do we get out of this?

“Vaccination is the solution,” Simmer said.

Both Traxler and Simmer encouraged parents to get their children vaccinated, noting that the vaccine is available for those ages 5 and up.

“We want students to be in school,” Simmer said, adding that the safest way to make sure they are safe in school is to use the vaccine, masking and social distancing.

Traxler noted that the use of masks needs to be reinforced, and that means more than simple cloth masks.

So as we edge closer to midnight, heed the advice of our state’s medical professionals. Get the shot, grab your celebratory mask and be safe.

With any luck, maybe we will be able to greet 2023 mask free.