‘Fighting the beast’: Kids, community members get COVID vaccines as school begins
For rising sixth-grader Ethan Matik of Bluffton, getting the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was a way to fight. “I get it to protect my friends, my family, South Carolina, the world,” he said. “I get it to protect people and get rid of this COVID stuff.”
Mom Nicole Matik nodded. As an employee at Pinnacle Health Group, she got vaccinated in January. She’s been following the increase in local COVID-19 cases with concern and remembering what it was like to live with her mother, who died of cancer during the pandemic.
“We’re fighting the beast,” she said during Thursday’s drive-through vaccination clinic at Bluffton Middle School.
Denzel Nolasco, a rising junior at May River High School, needed the vaccine to see his older brother graduate from Navy boot camp. He was also excited to return to in-person classes after a year of learning virtually.
Some of the people in line weren’t students or parents. Rachel Joyner, 21, a project engineer and May River High School graduate, had come at the behest of her mother.
“She said I need to get it done,” she said. “She told me, ‘You work in construction with men who don’t always wear masks, and nobody is looking out for you.’”
Joyner was hesitant to get the vaccine because “the government is giving this out for free, and nothing in this world is free.”
But her mom’s advice and the news that international travel will likely require proof of vaccination or a prolonged quarantine persuaded her to get the vaccination. She said the shot itself “wasn’t that bad,” and her biggest concern was having a sore arm when she took out her braids that night.
The 600 car sign-up slots at Beaufort County School District’s two vaccine clinics filled up almost immediately, according to Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s Courtney Smith.
Smith, the hospital’s director of operations and special projects, said the hospital has seen a steady increase in demand for vaccines in the past three weeks.
That lines up with Beaufort County’s rising COVID-19 case numbers. As of Friday, the county’s seven-day average of newly confirmed infections was 133 cases per day, a new record; as of Thursday, Beaufort Memorial was treating 41 COVID-19 patients.
“There is no question that the delta variant is more virulent and contagious,” Smith said. “We’re seeing a younger and sicker COVID patient these days.”
It also lines up with an increase in school quarantines prior to the start of classes. Battery Creek, May River and Beaufort High Schools have had entire sports teams quarantine, with May River’s cheerleading team quarantine extending past the start of school on Monday.
“I’m starting to get anxious again,” Nicole Matik said. “I was chilled for a while, but I think everyone is getting nervous.”
The people who attended Thursday’s vaccine clinic (along with its north-of-the-Broad counterpart, held Friday at Lady’s Island Middle) won’t be fully vaccinated for at least five weeks. They’ll still have to quarantine if they’re identified as close contacts to a COVID-positive individual.
Annette Lee was there to get her daughter, a competitive cheerleader, vaccinated in the hopes that she could avoid quarantining for any COVID-19 exposure.
A teacher at Hilton Head Island High School, Lee said she was optimistic about the start of school even without a mask mandate or virtual option.
“I’m feeling like we’ve got a plan,” she said, noting that the school would maintain three feet of distance between students and that she planned to wear a mask while teaching. “I’m hoping to go back to something more normal, but hopefully we can stay in school five days a week.”
Smith echoed that, saying the vaccine “gives us the opportunity to be on offense for the first time” against COVID-19.
“It’s important for folks to realize that this is safe, effective and our best chance at returning to a semblance of normal.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2021 at 7:00 AM.