COLOMBIA – The state’s largest health care provider is reducing the number of locations where it will administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
Prisma Health has administered more than 141,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to date, but shortages of supplies and shipping delays have led to rescheduled appointments this week, causing the hospital system to change plans in the coming weeks.
“The changes were designed to serve patients more efficiently, manage vaccination administration more effectively and simplify site logistics,” said Dr. Saria Saccocio, co-chair of the Vaccine Task Force at Prisma Health .
The hospital system will continue to operate maximum vaccination sites at Gamecock Park in Columbia, 1 Kmart Plaza in Greenville and The Ridge recreation center in Laurens. Three of the hospitals in the system – Prisma Health Baptist in Columbia, Prisma Health Tuomey in Sumter and Prisma Health Oconee Memorial – will also continue to give injections.
Vaccines previously administered at Simpsonville and Patewood Hospital in Greenville will all be eliminated on February 15 and redirected to the former Kmart site. Two Columbia hospitals and Easley hospital will also be decommissioned on February 22 and redirected to the location of Kmart, Gamecock Park or Prisma Baptist. Greer Hospital will end vaccinations on March 1 and will be redirected to the Kmart website.
All appointments previously scheduled for these closing sites will be transferred automatically.
Between rescheduled appointments, shipping delays and site consolidation, queues are likely to be longer for those seeking a vaccine from Prisma. Some reported waiting times of up to four hours this week. But the hospital system said it was prepared to respond.
Those whose appointment was canceled earlier this week have already been rescheduled for appointments in the coming weeks, Saccocio said, or were asked to come back another day at the end of the week to get vaccinated.
Prisma Health received 37,500 doses for the week, but only 17,550 doses arrived on February 10 due to winter storms that delayed delivery trucks leaving a FedEx facility in Memphis and UPS in Louisville.
Federal Centers for Disease Control have warned southeastern states that the arrival of vaccine shipments may continue to be delayed in the coming days. South Carolina will continue to receive its full weekly quotas; however, some providers may need to continue to reschedule inquiries.
Vaccine maker Pfizer also started shipping the two-dose series separately, with the first doses arriving on Monday each week and the second doses arriving on Wednesday. Saccocio said that Prisma Health responded by changing its appointment schedule.
The walk-in vaccination has been suspended unless the patient needs his second injection and more than 26 days have passed since the first injection.
Anyone aged 65 or over and all healthcare professionals are currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina.
To schedule an appointment with Prisma, visit https://prismahealth.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine or call 833-2PRISMA. Or to find another area provider, visit https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccine/covid-19-vaccine-appointments or call 1-866-365-8110.