As vaccine eligibility becomes broader in SC, finding an appointment is still an irregular process | COVID-19

For millions in South Carolina, March 8 marked the first day they could sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine.

But with so many people crying out for an appointment and thousands on waiting lists, the loosened rules did not mean that everyone was successful in scheduling their chance.

A year after the first two cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state, some 2.7 million additional South Carolina residents became eligible for the vaccine on Monday, including everyone aged 55 and over, those with underlying health problems or disabilities and all those who must work personally. The new guidelines, announced last week, mean that most of the state can seek an appointment.

But with dozens of vaccine providers to choose from and each with different scheduling systems, many of them found that consultations were not easy to find.

After spending hours on the phone on the morning of March 8, calling half a dozen pharmacies and the group of hospitals Prisma Health, Nikki Thompson was able to schedule one of the vaccine appointments he needed.

A housewife mother with four children who qualifies because of her health, Thompson, at first, got an appointment three hours away from her home in Greenville. The couple’s 4-year-old son has a chronic lung disease that led him to an emergency room with a common cold and made the family even more cautious last year.

“We are counting the days for the vaccine,” said Thompson.

Then, in the early afternoon, Thompson discovered two appointments closer to home at the English Pharmacy in Greenville for March 21. The trick was to call, not to search online, she said.

Still in the past phase

South Carolina took the next steps, vaccinating as many of the public as possible before all the highest priority individuals had the vaccine.

Only about a third of the state’s population who qualified in the first phase of eligibility completed the vaccination, according to data from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control. This population includes people aged 65 and over, residents and employees of long-term care institutions, health professionals and first responders.

As of March 5, about 531,000 people aged 65 and over had received at least one dose of the vaccine, representing about 57% of South Carolina’s population in this age group.

At the Medical University of South Carolina, the low supply of vaccine means that the healthcare system has not been able to schedule new appointments for weeks. About 40,000 people are on the MUSC waiting list, all qualified in the state’s first phase. It is possible that some of these thousands have found commitments elsewhere.

At Conway Medical Center, near Myrtle Beach, 1,900 people from the first phase of eligibility are on the hospital’s waiting list. On the afternoon of March 8, 3,000 more people requested consultations – putting them on the right path for most requests in a single day, since the hospital opened its portal on January 13.

Even so, state health officials said that enough progress had already been made and that sufficient consultations were left across the state to justify the change. Nick Davidson, senior public health deputy at DHEC, said on March 5 that “almost” all residents and employees of long-term care facilities have at least had the opportunity to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine.

Availability of a moving target

Now that eligibility has been even more open, DHEC is directing the public to use its website, vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov, where the dots light up in green where commitments are supposedly available.

A health agency spokeswoman said the site is updated several times a day. Even so, clicking on a green dot does not always mean that an appointment is guaranteed, with vacancies being opened quickly.

“It’s important to note that a provider’s ability to schedule appointments can change every day based on the availability of the vaccine – more appointments will be opened when the facility receives their direct shipments during the week – and as individuals cancel appointments for a variety of reasons “said a DHEC spokeswoman.

Demand is still outstripping supply, she said.

In the meantime, some providers have sent mixed signals: Despite being a designated vaccinator for weeks, a notice in the window of a local CVS pharmacy said “the vaccine COVID-19 IS NOT CURRENTLY available at CVS locations.” Your website contradicts that statement.

Educators, who are among the newly eligible group on March 8, are also likely to be undermining a portion of the weekly load of the COVID-19 vaccine to the state. Ryan Brown, spokesman for state superintendent Molly Spearman, said more than 30 districts have announced clinics for their employees this week or next.

The state’s nearly 123,000 K-12 employees represent a small percentage of newly eligible. All 79 South Carolina school districts developed vaccination plans before last week’s announcement.

And while limited supply is hampering the ability of some districts to follow through on these plans quickly, especially along the coast, most are not having problems, said Brown.

“We are seeing a lot of vaccine suppliers jumping” with the chance, he said. “Generally speaking, especially in rural areas, they have succeeded as a result of having plans in place and the providers know that they can eliminate a good portion of the eligible people at once.”

Some people were lucky to access vaccination schedules before eligibility was technically opened on March 8.

Both Vicki Viers and her husband qualify because they are in their 60s. Viers, a Huger resident and real estate agent, managed to schedule an appointment for her husband on Saturday and, on Monday morning, a shot was in the arm.

Viers plans to drive more than two hours to Camden for his March 10 appointment.

Originally from West Virginia, Viers said she would be willing to drive to her home state to get a vaccine, if necessary. The virus kept her away from her family, as well as hampered her efforts to build her real estate business, as she and her husband only moved to South Carolina about a year and a half ago. Now that she’s booked, Viers plans to visit her mother, who was also vaccinated, and see her grandchildren in Mount Pleasant and Ohio.

“I haven’t seen grandchildren in a year, except through the windows,” she said. “I can’t wait for hugs.”

As good news for Viers and everyone looking forward to seeing their families, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on March 8 that it is acceptable for people who have been fully vaccinated to meet in small indoor meetings.

With appointments scheduled for her and her husband, Viers said he started looking for a way to schedule other members of his family who are newly eligible.

Seanna Adcox contributed reporting from Columbia, and Nick Masuda contributed by Myrtle Beach.