COLOMBIA, SC (WRDW / WAGT) – Governor Henry McMaster and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced on Friday that all South Carolinians aged 16 and over will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. from March 31.
They will be able to start scheduling their appointments on Wednesday.
Online appointments can be made using scdhec.gov/vaxlocator or you can call DHEC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Information Line at 866-365-8110 for assistance.
“Our priority with the vaccine has been to save the lives of those most at risk of dying. Keeping the course and resisting distractions, we have expanded access and eligibility for Southern Carolinians to vaccinate faster than initially anticipated, ”said McMaster. “Thanks to the enormous efforts of health professionals in our state, we are now able to make the vaccine available to anyone who wants it, and before the deadline.”
The announcement came a day after vaccinations were opened for Georgians aged 16 and over.
On March 8, South Carolina moved to Phase 1B of the vaccination plan, which allowed people aged 55 and over, all at increased risk of serious COVID-19 disease and all frontline workers at occupational risk increased to receive the vaccine.
Since then, DHEC and other vaccine suppliers have administered an average of 23,323 doses per day, for a total of 419,816 doses administered since 8 March.
“We started by making the vaccine available to those who were most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19; the elderly, those at high risk of exposure at work and those with medical conditions that aggravate the effects of COVID-19, ”said Dr. Edward Simmer, director of DHEC. “Today, about a year after the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, we are able to offer three very safe and effective vaccines to all South Carolina residents over the age of 16 – another step on our way to taking control of the COVID-19. of him controlling us and getting back to normal. “
Altogether, DHEC and other vaccine suppliers administered a total of 1,818,939 doses of the vaccine to South Carolina residents, with 1,163,103 South Carolinians having received at least one dose and 617,787 South Carolinians having completed the vaccination. To date, approximately 15% of South Carolina’s population has been fully vaccinated.
Currently, Pfizer is the only vaccine available for people aged 16 to 18. All three vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – are available for ages 18 and older.
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