FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 1, 2021
COLUMBIA, SC – In addition to the COVID-19 vaccine updates provided earlier this week, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced additional information.
Sixteen healthcare facilities, as described in this new spreadsheet, have received 97,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine directly from the federal government since December 14. The DHEC Distribution Center received 14,625 doses and distributed 5,555 to healthcare facilities without the ultra cold storage required to store the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
As Phase 1a vaccination progresses, hospitals and other vaccination providers COVID-19 may administer doses to Phase 1a non-affiliated health professionals, if they have the ability to do so based on clarified guidelines, available vaccine and appropriate personnel . It is at the discretion of each hospital and vaccination provider which non-affiliated Phase 1a individuals they offer to vaccinate and in what order.
In addition, DHEC is working with partners to establish vaccination clinics for Phase 1a individuals in independent medical practices, pharmacies, DHEC locations and other locations to ensure that the vaccine is accessible to all Phase 1a individuals who wish to receive their vaccination. injection. Phase 1a individuals who will be notified and encouraged to schedule an appointment at one of these locations if they have not been vaccinated by a hospital.
Suppliers of the COVID-19 vaccine must successfully enroll in a federal vaccine distribution program that instructs on proper vaccine handling and administration. They are also required by federal law to report specific information for each dose they administer in the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS), a secure national database accessed by states to monitor vaccine administration. It is important to note that the numbers in VAMS, the way they are registered and the time when they can be / are registered are impacting the amount of vaccines that VAMS says hospitals have in hand. In addition, many of the available doses are reserved for Phase 1a individuals with appointments scheduled in the near future.
Residents and employees of long-term care institutions and nursing homes who are being vaccinated through the Long-Term Care Program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are registered separately in a national database called Tiberius. Vaccine information is not expected to be available through Tiberius until early next week.
While states await data from long-term care facilities, DHEC is developing an online vaccine overview panel scheduled to launch on January 6, 2021. In the meantime, DHEC will provide daily updates to the vaccine allocation spreadsheet. from Pfizer-BioNTech. For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccine, visit scdhec.gov/vaxfacts.
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