Government officials in Horry County, South Carolina, devastated by the scandal, are suffering – and rightly so – from receiving coronavirus vaccinations before elderly residents who are more prone to potentially serious effects of the virus and its comorbidities.
Not only that, these government officials were allowed to distribute doses of the vaccine to their “designees” as well … whether these people fall into the current “phase” of South Carolina vaccine distribution or not.
According to an excellent investigative report by Kevin Accettulla WBTW TV-13 (CBS – Florence-Myrtle Beach, SC), a total of 2,319 people “affiliated” to the Horry County government have been vaccinated according to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC).
For those who score points at home, there are 2,250 people currently employed by the county.
In other words, more people “affiliated” to the county have been vaccinated than people who work for the county.
What is a problem … especially in a state that has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of the national ranking in terms of the number of vaccines it has received from the federal government.
According to Accettulla, Horry County’s rescue and fire department was approved early in the process as a supplier of the Covid-19 vaccine. Although the agency was authorized by SCDHEC to provide doses to county officials, its director of emergency services decided to adopt a policy whereby an additional person “designated by a county official” could also receive the vaccination.
“These doses were not designed for the public or anything,” Horry County Councilman Johnny Vaught Accettulla said bluntly, arguing that vaccines were provided to the county “to keep government services running.”
Seriously?
South Carolina is currently in Phase 1a of its vaccine implementation (.pdf) – which includes healthcare professionals, residents (and staff) in long-term care facilities, patients admitted to hospitals over 65, residents with over 65 with or without underlying health conditions) and “mission critical state / local government employees.”
So … what criteria, precisely, did Horry County apply to determine which of its employees were “mission critical?”
What about the “assignees” of these employees? On what basis were they selected?
County officials say they placed an “emphasis on those who met the criteria for phase 1a” when distributing doses of the vaccine. But did they?
It is not clear … and the county is avoiding requests for more information.
When the Accettulla station carried out investigations in hopes of determining the composition of this group of “nominees”, the Horry County spokeswoman rejected her requests – saying the county “was not providing further interpretation”.
Founding editor of this news agency Will Folks Long ago he published that Covid-19 is nowhere near as dangerous as the creators of pro-closure fear convinced us that it was – however, that doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous (especially for older citizens). Clearly, it is – and reasonable precautions must continue to be taken in response to this.
With the same clarity, those who are most vulnerable should be given priority in the distribution of vaccination. And with all due respect, a bunch of county bureaucrats and their “appointees” are no priority recipients.
County officials – starting with the ethically challenged chairman Johnny Gardner – must be held responsible for each dose of vaccine misused, once complete accounting has been made available to the public.
It is not just the variety of taxpayer thefts in which these employees are usually involved. This is a favoritism that can potentially have life or death consequences …
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-FITSNews
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