The number of new cases of COVID-19 in South Carolina has steadily declined since the peak of early January, but even so, the state of Palmetto has consistently been at the top of the national ranking.
Adjusted for the size of each state’s population, South Carolina’s new daily reports of COVID-19 cases have been in slot # 1 of the COVID Tracking Project for about two consecutive weeks.
A weekly report from the White House also put South Carolina in the worst position for new cases, with a rate almost double the national average and 20% higher than New York, which was the state in second place. South Carolina ranked 7th in the ranking of new hospitalizations in the week before the report was released on February 17.
State figures
New cases reported: 1,585 confirmed, 393 probable.
Total cases in SC: 432,780 confirmed, 65,157 probable.
Positive percentage: 9 percent.
New deaths reported: 51 confirmed, 13 probable.
Total deaths in SC: 7,325 confirmed, 88 probable.
Percentage of ICU beds occupied: 77 percent.
How does SC rank in vaccines administered by 100,000 people?
42 as of February 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most affected areas
In the total number of new confirmed cases, Greenville (197), Richland (139) and Horry (137) counties saw the highest totals.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County had 101 new cases on February 19, while Berkeley counted 28 and Dorchester 25.
Deaths
One of the deaths recently confirmed by COVID-19 reported on February 19 was in a young adult aged 18 to 34 years. Twelve occurred in people aged 35 to 64 and the remainder in patients aged 65 or over.
Hospitalizations
Of the 1,122 COVID-19 patients hospitalized on February 19, 265 were in the ICU and 151 were using ventilators.
What do the experts say?
With 13.8 million shots across the United States, the CDC said in a research report on February 19 that security data is still reassuring.
Everyone who is administering vaccines must report “adverse events” to government health officials. Of all doses administered, there were 7,000 reports of side effects. Nine out of 10 of these incidents were not serious, including symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness, chills and fatigue.
“These initial findings should provide assurances for healthcare providers and vaccine recipients and promote confidence in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines,” wrote the CDC researchers. They added that the system that monitors the safety of the vaccine is the largest of its kind in the history of the United States.
And while 113 people died within days of receiving the vaccine, no deaths were associated with the COVID-19 vaccination.
