South Carolina is third among all 50 states in the percentage of residents who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Only 2.4% of Southern Carolinians received their first dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The only states with lower percentages are Georgia, with 2.2%, and Alabama, with 2.1%.
For comparison, the United States average is 3.7%, while West Virginia has the highest percentage, with 7.5%. Neighboring North Carolina, to the north, administered the first dose to 2.9% of its residents.
South Carolina received a total of 350,550 doses of vaccine and administered 121,836 doses, for an administration rate of 34.8%, according to CDC data.
Locally, Aiken Regional Medical Centers received 815 doses of vaccine and administered 554 first doses and 250 second doses, for a 99% usage rate, according to data from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control Friday.
SC DHEC continues to reiterate that South Carolina, like all states, has limited doses of the vaccine. South Carolina ranks 26th out of 50 states in doses of vaccines received, with 350,550 doses. Georgia ranks seventh in that category, having received 1,011,200 doses.
South Carolina residents cannot cross the state border into Georgia to receive the vaccine, as Georgia administers vaccines only to its own residents.
For residents aged 70 and over who are still looking to schedule vaccine appointments, the SC DHEC vaccine locator website lists the Medical Service Center at Aiken Mall as the only location in Aiken County that is accepting appointments.
To schedule these appointments, residents should visit the Doctors Care website and click on the “COVID-19 Vaccine Record” button near the top of the page. Then, scroll to the bottom of the page to the subtitle “Vaccine Registration Form” and select the option “Age 70 years or older” to make the form appear.
In the form, the resident will put his name, e-mail address, date of birth and telephone number. Each registrant must have a unique email address.
SC DHEC confirmed 50 new cases of COVID-19 and a likely coronavirus-related death in Aiken County on Friday. The death occurred on January 12, and the victim was elderly.
DHEC SC confirmed a total of 1,845 cases and 93 deaths across the state on Friday. The 93 deaths are a new record for the state, exceeding the previous daily high of 74.
The data reported on Friday are for the date of 13 January.
Friday’s report raises the total confirmed number of COVID-19 cases in Aiken County to 9,133, with 129 coronavirus-related deaths.
Aiken County also reported a total of 1,688 probable cases of COVID-19 and 21 probable coronavirus-related deaths.
In the neighboring counties of Barnwell and Edgefield, 13 and 25 cases of the virus were confirmed, respectively, on Thursday. There was also a coronavirus-related death confirmed at Barnwell on January 12 in an elderly victim.
According to DHEC’s acute hospital bed occupancy report, hospitals in Aiken County are at 96.8% occupancy. There are 150 occupied beds, while there are 5 open beds. Across the state, there are 2,424 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized.
The total number of individual test results reported to SC DHEC across the state on Friday was 11,153, and the positive percentage was 16.5%.
The total number of cases across the state is now 341,597, with 34,370 probable cases, 5,513 confirmed deaths and 524 probable deaths.