Francis Clay Kulp served in the Coast Guard throughout World War II and celebrated his 101st birthday in his retirement community near Columbia on February 3. However, more than a month after the vaccine arrived in South Carolina, Kulp, who also has a chronic lung disease, still does not.
COVID-19 vaccines are not being distributed based on life experiences, no matter how rare. About 4,000 World War II veterans remain in South Carolina, according to the National Museum of World War II in New Orleans. But, given his age and where he lives, it seems that Kulp would qualify for a vaccination on two fronts.
But it’s not the case. The vaccine is now available for people aged 65 and over and for those living in long-term care facilities, regardless of age. But the house where Kulp lives does not meet the strict definition of long-term care. That is why, another month after the massive national vaccination program began, many people living in similar congregated communities in South Carolina have not yet had an injection and do not know when to expect one.
Her son, Charleston attorney Timothy Kulp, said he had not seen his father in a year since his 100th birthday party.
“You can’t create groups of unique people, like Dad, for distribution,” acknowledged Kulp. But, he said, “It seems like a no-brainer to me. They should come to you and give you a vaccine. “
Kulp uses a wheelchair and his family is still hesitant to see him for fear of transmitting the virus. He could receive the vaccine at an external community clinic based on his advanced age, but the chance of being exposed to the virus during the process and of transporting it is a risk.
A spokeswoman for Holiday Senior Living, a national network of retirement communities, including the one where Kulp lives, said in a statement that the group is disappointed that its residents have not been prioritized. Holiday has sought out local vaccine suppliers to try to schedule in-house clinics at its various facilities.
“Unfortunately, we did not receive guidance on where the majority of our communities would fall on prioritization,” she said. “We are not going to stop until 100 percent of our communities have been accounted for.”
Like many other communities like this in the state, the Holiday Senior Living residence does not qualify as a retirement home or retirement home. Effectively, the difference comes down to the level of medical assistance available on the spot. It also means that access to vaccines has been a more difficult task.
Half of the states have plans that define where these congregated environments – such as homes, retirement communities and even prisons – should fall into vaccine lines, shows a Kaiser Family Foundation survey. South Carolina is not one of them.
One month, 50,000 doses
The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control has reserved 203,400 doses of Moderna vaccine for the long-term care program. Half of that number is for second doses, which increase the vaccine’s effectiveness by 94%.
Two pharmacy chains, Walgreens and CVS, are responsible for installing vaccination clinics on the premises. At the beginning of last week, both said they had already taken the first doses in all the homes registered in the program.
In South Carolina, the two companies distributed more than 50,000 doses in the five weeks since the long-term treatment effort began. DHEC said the pace is slower than expected.
DHEC knew that its estimate of how many doses would be needed for the program was likely to be in excess, a spokeswoman said. It was based on the total capacity of the facilities and the communities are not necessarily full.
Governor Henry McMaster on January 29 encouraged the state health agency to transfer 37,800 “surplus” doses of the Modern vaccine back to the general reservoir. This number is based on CVS and Walgreens guidance.
J. Randal Lee, president of the SC Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes, said he was “very satisfied” with the progress of the program. Pharmacies have simplified the process.
The number of people vaccinated may appear to be lower than expected because the vaccine is not mandatory, Lee said, and although most residents are taking it, employees are being a little more timid.
“Some just wanted to wait and see,” said Lee.
Continued outbreaks of COVID-19 have also complicated some clinics, according to DHEC. At the Lexington Medical Center nursing home, for example, 226 of the 295 residents received the first dose of the vaccine.
Of those who did not, about half were ineligible because they were COVID-19-positive, hospital board members heard during a meeting on January 28.
Third visits are being scheduled where needed to cover everyone, said a corporate spokesman for Walgreens.
Twenty-one assisted living facilities in South Carolina did not respond when asked about maintaining a vaccine clinic or refused to schedule one, according to DHEC. The agency refused to divulge the names of these facilities, telling members of the press that they would need to ask the federal government.
Others were waiting
When an application window for the CVS and Walgreens program, administered by the federal government, opened in October, 140 facilities in South Carolina went through the application process that did not meet state priority guidelines. They were houses of groups of adults, communities for people with disabilities and accessible housing complexes, to name a few.
DHEC allowed the facilities to remain on the program because most of the people who lived there would qualify for the first phase anyway.
Others did not make the cut.
Scott Driscoll, who manages the independent living community Summerville Estates with his wife, said the corporate offices received news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about three weeks ago that the facilities would not be covered under the CVS and Walgreens program, as before originally planned.
“I didn’t blame anyone,” said Driscoll. “I just thought, ‘I have 100 residents to look after. How am I going to do this?'”
Driscoll started making calls – to lawmakers, DHEC and hospitals. He managed to connect with Liberty Doctors, an independent network of medical offices in Lowcountry. A vaccination clinic is scheduled for February 7. Liberty Doctors, which is administering the Pfizer vaccine, has scheduled another vaccination clinic with a different retirement community for the weekend, said Lissa Lara, the group’s CEO.
“It may not be the same thing as assisted living or specialized nursing, but they are still communities,” she said. “Our philosophy is to fill that gap when we can.”
What sets a place like Summerville Estates apart from an assisted living facility is the medical care available, said Driscoll. At Summerville Estates, third parties provide care “to help residents through the aging process,” he said. But he described a congregated environment much like an assisted living environment: The average age of residents is 83, people eat together and some are even under palliative care.
Retirement communities are not the only facilities left to fend for themselves. Some group environments for people with disabilities also appear in the dark.
Alex Pruitt told employees who work in the community where he lives that he is ready to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I just want it to end, where I no longer need to wear a mask,” he said.
Pruitt, who has autism, is a resident at the Babcock Center in Columbia, which houses a collection of services for people with varying levels of disability. Thoyd Warren, its president and CEO, said people who live in one of the Babcock Center’s three nursing homes have already been vaccinated or will be coming next week.
But Pruitt lives in another part of the Babcock Center, a kind of apartment complex. The team members help him and his neighbors with certain tasks, such as getting to the supermarket. Pruitt goes to work at a nearby Food Lion. He is looking forward to receiving the vaccine so he can see his 10 and 12-year-old daughters.
Warren said the rest of the Babcock Center’s services are contracted through CVS to schedule a clinic. There is no set date yet, however. He said similar providers across the state are in the same position, waiting for a word.
“We are just getting ready for that day when it arrives,” said Warren.
Jessica Holdman and Seanna Adcox contributed reporting from Columbia.