Beaufort Co. mayors call on DHEC for transparent, equitable COVID vaccine distribution
Top Beaufort County elected officials collectively and diplomatically expressed frustration and shared concerns Thursday about how the state is distributing COVID-19 vaccines.
Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray wrote the letter, which was signed by mayors of all the county’s municipalities and the County Council chair, to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control chairman Mark Elam. They called for DHEC to be transparent about how it’s distributing the vaccines and asked that the information be available to local governments.
“Most folks understand that we currently have less vaccine than what is needed,” the letter says. “However, we believe a priority based, equitable, and transparent process will go a long way toward calming anxiety across our state, regarding access to vaccines.”
It also requested that DHEC take into account factors such as elderly and minority populations, as well as rural communities being disproportionally affected by the pandemic, when determining how to allocate the vaccines.
“We stand ready to take on this herculean task but request your assistance in ensuring that we are receiving the appropriate number of doses from the Federal Government, and that SCDHEC is distributing them in a timely and equitable way,” the letter says.
In addition to Murray, the letter was signed by Beaufort County Council Chairman Joe Passiment, Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka, Hilton Head Island Mayor John McCann, Port Royal Mayor Joe DeVito, Hardeeville Mayor Harry Williams and Yemassee Mayor Colin Moore.
“We’re not asking for more than our fair share,” Murray said Friday. “We’re just asking that DHEC take a data-driven and objective approach to distributing a resource where we won’t have the supply to meet the demand for some time.”
The letter comes two weeks after Beaufort Memorial Hospital was forced to cancel more than 6,000 vaccination appointments due to a statewide shortage of the vaccine.
The Jan. 15 cancellations came after local hospital executives were blindsided by news from DHEC that medical centers would get only 20-25% of the Pfizer doses they requested for first shots during that past week, even though state leaders had expanded Phase 1a eligibility to include residents 70 or older.
Despite the combination of a complex rollout of vaccines and issues with registration that prompted DHEC to create a more user-friendly sign-up process, 10,315 people have been vaccinated by Beaufort and Jasper county hospitals. The vaccination process included a drive-thru clinic at Beaufort High School where 1,000 people who had their original appointments canceled were able to get their initial dose.
Since March, Beaufort County has had 12,325 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 139 deaths, according to DHEC data released Friday.
