By Heather Gale
HORRY COUNTY, SC (WPDE) – The COVID-19 vaccine may arrive in South Carolina in mid-December, according to officials at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
How many doses of vaccine the state will receive, however, were not released until December 2.
A DHEC spokesman said they will update the public with specific dates and figures as they become available.
As of December 1, South Carolina had a total of 205,004 confirmed cases and 13,908 probable cases. The state also recorded 4,091 confirmed deaths and 313 probable deaths related to the virus.
RELATED: North Carolina Will Receive 85,000 Initial Doses of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
DHEC also reported that there are currently 980 patients with COVID-19 in the hospital, with 201 in the ICU and 84 of them on ventilators.
The vaccine, when available, will be free for everyone. Each person will have to receive two doses of the vaccine, from the same manufacturer, of the first dose.
DHEC has a phased system on who should receive the vaccine and when.
RELATED: Here Are The Answers To Your Questions About A COVID-19 Vaccine
“South Carolina is committed to fair and equitable distribution of the vaccine in our state,” said state epidemiologist, Dr. Linda Bell, in November.
State authorities divided vaccination efforts into three phases, each dependent on the availability of vaccines:
- Phase 1: South Carolina expects limited vaccine availability, with a focus on equitable distribution to target populations using a limited number of providers.
- Phase 2: South Carolina will continue to identify and quantify target populations and expand provider enrollment to meet target groups.
- Phase 3: The vaccine will be available in sufficient quantities for the entire population and a surplus of doses will be available, with a focus on ensuring equitable access to vaccination for the entire population.
Since vaccines require second doses, state health officials said in November that they were working with providers to create a system to track recipients and send text and e-mail reminders when the doses were ready. The second dose should be administered approximately three weeks after the first for the vaccine to be effective, company officials reported.
On December 2, the CDC announced new guidelines for quarantine and testing before and after the trip.
Dr. Henry Walke, MD, incident manager for COVID-19, said the CDC has identified two alternative quarantine periods.
The first is that a person can end quarantine now, after 10 days without any tests or after 7 days with negative test results – both if the person has no symptoms.
However, he said people should still be aware of symptoms for 14 full days. He said that reducing the duration of quarantine can make people take it seriously and reduce stress in the public health system and communities when cases increase.
Although the CDC still recommends that people postpone the vacation, if a person decides to travel, they recommend that they take the test one to three days before the trip and three to five days after the trip. They recommend that it be combined with a reduction in non-essential activities for a full 7 days after travel, even if the test is negative.
The authorities said the tests do not eliminate all risks, but when combined with other precautions, they can make travel safer.