Phase 1a workers in Beaufort Co. must schedule COVID-19 vaccines by Jan. 15, DHEC says
Outpatient health care employers in Beaufort County should contact local hospitals before Jan. 15 to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments if employees are included in Phase 1a of the state’s distribution plan and want a shot, a top health official said Wednesday.
The guidance came after Gov. Henry McMaster criticized South Carolina’s initial vaccine rollout, calling it too slow, and said Tuesday that Phase 1a members had to sign up for a shot or get vaccinated before Jan. 15 to avoid the risk of losing their place in line.
The state’s Phase 1a prioritizes critical health care workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities. Health officials on Friday also urged hospitals to give doses to many admitted patients 65 or older.
Outpatient health care providers qualify for vaccines under Phase 1a, including local dentists and primary care physicians, among others.
But area hospitals are the only locations that have received shipments of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, state data show. Long-term care facilities are receiving Moderna’s vaccine through a federal program.
Dr. Brannon Traxler, interim director of public health at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, on Wednesday detailed DHEC’s updated plan during a briefing with reporters.
“Employers are encouraged to reach out to local hospitals as soon as possible,” Traxler said, “with a list of their employees’ names and email addresses who want to be vaccinated.”
Individuals can also request an appointment themselves.
Vaccine-related contact information for hospitals is now on DHEC’s website, Traxler said. That list can be found here: https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccine
Traxler said that, depending on Phase 1a demand in coming days, DHEC may opt to continue Phase 1a after Jan. 15 or may switch immediately to Phase 1b, during which residents 75 or older in the general public will qualify to get vaccinated.
She added, though, that DHEC still expects Phase 1a to continue into late January or early February, appearing to suggest that the Jan. 15 deadline is simply an attempt to encourage appointments.
“The vaccinations do not have to be received by the Phase 1a members by Jan. 15,” she said, “but they do have to have requested that first dose appointment before then.”
“We do have to remain flexible in our response,” Traxler said. “This includes understanding that many hospitals are facing unprecedented stress on their systems right now. We’re currently working to expand the number of individuals who are qualified to administer the vaccine.”
Phase 1a includes an estimated 350,000 people statewide, according to Stephen White, DHEC’s director of immunizations. But only 129,675 first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine had been delivered in South Carolina as of Wednesday.
Meanwhile, just over 52,000 Phase 1a members as of Wednesday had received their first dose. Another 69,959 were scheduled to get inoculated, according to the state.
DHEC initially planned to start Phase 1b only after 70% of those eligible in Phase 1a were vaccinated, Traxler said.
But after a Monday meeting with McMaster, the agency shifted its strategy.
Lawmakers had criticized DHEC’s plan, pointing to state vaccination data that showed less than 40% of all Pfizer doses received in South Carolina had been administered. (The statewide utilization rate was 48% as of Friday.)
Locally, Beaufort Memorial Hospital had administered roughly 49% — 1,191 — of its 2,450 Pfizer doses as of Friday, DHEC data show.
The hospital has offered vaccines to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. And a spokesperson for the medical center, Courtney McDermott, in a Tuesday statement wrote that hospital staff on Monday started to reach out to local dentists, funeral homes and school nurses to get the names and email addresses of those interested in getting a shot.
The county’s Emergency Medical Services has also received some doses, an EMS spokesperson previously said.
Hilton Head Hospital, meanwhile, as of Friday had received 605 Pfizer doses and had administered 78% of those shots.Coastal Carolina Hospital had administered about 79% — 291 — of its 370 Pfizer doses, according to the state.
Daisy Burroughs, a spokesperson for Tenet Healthcare, which owns the two hospitals, in a statement Monday wrote the facilities were vaccinating employees, local physicians and first responders.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we covered this story
Facts about COVID-19 vaccine distribution in South Carolina are changing rapidly. The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette are trying to publish important information as quickly and accurately as possible. This story may be updated if more information becomes available or if facts become clearer.
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 4:30 AM.
