South Carolina has been closing in a total of 8,000 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began, as vaccination efforts across the state continue to grow.
On March 21, Palmetto Promise held a rural vaccination clinic on Wadmalaw Island, where it partnered with Roper St. Francis Hospital to distribute hundreds of vaccines to minorities, rural residents and the neediest.
State figures
New cases reported: 654 confirmed, 405 likely.
Total cases in SC: 459,417 confirmed, 82,165 probable.
Positive percentage: 4.3 percent.
New reported deaths: 35 confirmed, 8 probable.
Total deaths in SC: 7,953 confirmed, 1,054 probable.
Percentage of ICU beds occupied: 68.39 percent.
How does SC rank in vaccines administered by 100,000 people?
42nd on March 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most affected areas
In the total number of new confirmed cases, Greenville County (110), Charleston County (48) and Horry County (48) saw the highest totals.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County had 48 new cases on March 20, while Berkeley had 12 and Dorchester had 16.
Deaths
Twenty of the new confirmed deaths reported were people aged 35 to 64 and 15 were patients aged 65 and over.
Hospitalizations
Of the 542 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized on March 21, 133 were in the ICU and 66 were using ventilators.
What do the experts say?
Although the prevalence of COVID-19 in South Carolina is steadily decreasing, researchers of the disease are increasingly concerned with the “long COVID”, loosely defined as cases in which someone does not recover from the disease in a few weeks.
“Information is still emerging on the long COVID,” said Dr. Jane Kelly, assistant epidemiologist in the Department of Health and Environmental Control of SC. “We are seeing more cases than we anticipated.”
She said that some of the symptoms that may persist range from “peculiar” – such as loss of taste or smell – to “worrying” – such as shortness of breath.
There is no specific diagnostic test to confirm long COVID, Kelly added. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health announced an initiative in late February to study the condition.
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