Thousands in Beaufort Co. have missed 2nd COVID-19 vaccine dose. Why that matters
Thousands of Beaufort County residents have missed or skipped their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, leaving themselves vulnerable to the super-contagious delta variant, according to new data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Just over 11,450 residents, as of last Sunday, were at least one week late for their second shot, DHEC data show. That’s about 6.4% of eligible residents.
Those partially vaccinated in the county now face a heightened risk of contracting delta, which appears to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
Beaufort County also ranks third statewide for the highest percentage of eligible residents who have skipped or missed their second shot.
Only Sumter and Lancaster counties have higher percentages.
“Get fully vaccinated now,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, the state’s public health director, during a briefing with reporters Wednesday. “Based on our current tends, both in South Carolina and nationally, I worry about what we might be seeing in the fall, when cooler weather arrives and more people are indoors.”
The delta impact
Health officials strongly recommend that people get a second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine three weeks after their first. The second Moderna shot, meanwhile, should be administered four weeks after the first.
Why?
New research this summer has provided insight into delta’s apparent ability to thwart vaccines.
A study published July 21 in The New England Journal of Medicine, for example, found that one dose of Pfizer’s vaccine was 35.6% effective against delta cases in the United Kingdom, while two doses were 88% effective. (In comparison, one Pfizer dose was 47.5% effective against the alpha variant. Two doses were 93.7% effective.)
Another report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published online Tuesday, found that the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines administered to a large group of frontline workers in the United States dropped from 91% to 66% as delta rapidly spread across the country. Most of the employees had received Pfizer or Moderna’s mRNA vaccines.
Can residents get a second dose after stalling for weeks?
The short answer: Yes.
When a delay is unavoidable, residents can sometimes get their second dose up to 42 days after their first, according to the CDC.
But even after that 42-day period, people can receive a second shot. Their vaccination series “does not need to be restarted,” federal officials say.
CVS and Walgreens locations in the Lowcountry, for example, are willing to book second-dose appointments for people who received their first shot months ago, a reporter found Friday after testing the pharmacies’ vaccine scheduling systems.
People who initially missed a second dose appointment should try to get one as soon as possible because two mRNA shots are better than one, scientists argue. (Unless you experienced a severe allergic reaction to your first dose, such as anaphylaxis.)
Waiting it out
Some research has suggested that the delayed administration of Pfizer’s second dose could actually boost a body’s COVID-19 immune response.
One study published to a preprint server in mid-May found that peak COVID-19 antibody levels were 3.5 times higher in vaccine recipients older than 80 who waited 11 or 12 weeks to get their second doses in the United Kingdom, in comparison to those who waited three weeks.
Health officials, though, continue to stress that people inoculated amid South Carolina’s recent delta surge should stick with the vaccines’ recommended two-dose intervals. Delaying a second dose now appears to be more dangerous than it was earlier this year.
Dr. Linda Bell, the state’s top epidemiologist, during a recent briefing with reporters said she’s “never been more concerned about the health of our state.”
“More than 10,000 people have lost their lives in our state and more than 45,000 doses of lifesaving vaccine have expired and gone to waste,” Bell said. “The juxtaposition of those two facts is really heartbreaking.”
What about booster shots?
Here’s where things get tricky.
If someone skipped a second dose earlier this year, can they get a booster shot in the coming weeks?
The answer to that question is still up in the air, because no official guidance has been released on the matter. The United States is expected to roll out booster shots for the general public sometime next month, according to the Biden administration.
But the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, has yet to issue booster recommendations.
A Pfizer spokesperson confirmed Friday that the company’s booster will be 0.3 mL, which is the same dosage used for its first and second shots.
That raises the question: Could residents get a “booster” Pfizer shot and instead use it as a delayed second dose? (A Moderna spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.)
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control demurred when asked about the subject Friday.
Laura Renwick, an agency spokeswoman, in a statement wrote that DHEC is waiting to see what ACIP decides when it meets on Monday and Tuesday.
This story was originally published August 29, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
