Hilton Head area hospitals to close COVID-19 vaccine clinic as demand drops. Here’s when
Hilton Head Regional Healthcare will shut down its COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Bluffton next month as the local demand for shots continues to drop.
The health care system, which includes Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina hospitals, will stop offering first-dose vaccinations at the Buckwalter Recreation Center beginning May 8.
The final day for first-dose shots is May 7. The clinic will continue to offer second-dose appointments until May 28.
“Not only are there more vaccine suppliers in our community right now than there have been before, but also we’re seeing a decline in demand,” Jeremy Clark, CEO of the system, previously told the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. “We want to transition to partnering with other community groups to really work on targeted vaccination efforts.”
Clark’s two hospitals are among the area’s biggest vaccinators.
Hilton Head Hospital has administered about 8,170 first Pfizer-BioNTech doses since mid-December, according to state health officials. And Coastal Carolina Hospital has provided roughly 12,200 first Pfizer doses.
But Beaufort County’s demand for vaccines has taken a nosedive in recent days, mirroring a statewide trend.
The seven-day average of new first-dose vaccinations in the county has dropped to 299 per day. At one point in late March, that average was about 1,072 per day.
The drop in demand is likely connected to a range of factors, including vaccine hesitancy, according to public health experts.
“There’s a lot of mistrust, and I think we’re going to need to see a lot of education campaigns,” said Lior Rennert, a biostatistician at Clemson University.
Daisy Burroughs, a spokesperson for Tenet Healthcare, which owns Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina hospitals, in a Tuesday statement wrote that after the Buckwalter clinic closes, the health care system “plans to collaborate with local organizations to coordinate community vaccination events.”
Those events will be advertised, Burroughs wrote.
Here’s a schedule for the remaining days of vaccine availability at the Buckwalter clinic:
Wednesday, April 28: First and second doses available, appointments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins allowed from 2 to 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 29: First and second doses available, appointments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins allowed from 2 to 7 p.m.
Friday, April 30: First and second doses available, appointments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins allowed from 2 to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, May 5: First and second doses available, appointments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins allowed from 2 to 5 p.m.
Thursday, May 6: First and second doses available, appointments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins allowed from 2 to 7 p.m.
Friday, May 7: First and second doses available, appointments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins allowed from 2 to 5 p.m.
Second-dose appointments will be scheduled through May 28.
About 47.8% of Beaufort County residents who are 15 or older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Note: Data in this story are current as of Monday.
