FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
29 December 2020
COLUMBIA, SC The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced the following updates on COVID-19 on COVID-19 vaccine.
Award phase
- South Carolina is in Phase 1a of vaccine distribution.
- The Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) announced on December 20 its recommendations for Phase 1b individuals. South Carolina’s Vaccine Advisory Committee (VAC) is using this federal guidance to complete Phase 1b guidelines in South Carolina, which will be provided once finalized, which may be early next week. TheACIP has also recommended the development of a Phase 1c category, which the VAC will begin to develop in line with this federal guidance.
Pfizer BioNTech Vaccine
- On December 29, South Carolina received a total of 112,125 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:
- Week of 12/14: 42 900 doses received
- Week of 21/12: 30 225 doses received
- Week of 28/12: 39 000 doses received
- A total of 31,511 doses of the vaccine were administered to individuals in phase 1a, with shots being administered daily.
- South Carolina will continue to receive weekly doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The number of doses the state receives each week is expected to vary and will only be known before the vaccine shipments are received by the federal government.
- Those in Phase 1a who received their Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will need a second admission 21 days later. Their second shot comes from a future grant of vaccine specifically held by the federal government as the second dose for those individuals, to ensure they both receive the required doses.
Modern vaccine
- On December 28, South Carolina received 84,500 doses of Moderna vaccine awarded to the CDC’s long-term care program. This federal program works with CVS and Walgreens pharmacies to provide vaccines to long-term care institutions in states. DHEC has a limited role in this federal program, other than dedicating the doses to South Carolina’s vaccination grant to the program.
- An update on the doses of vaccine administered by this federal program to long-term care institutions in South Carolina will be available soon.
DHEC will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina. A new data element is being developed that will provide vaccination-specific data reports on the COVID-19 website, and is expected to be available on the website in early January. For current information on vaccines, visit scdhec.gov/vaxfacts.
Today’s Affairs and Deaths (scdhec.gov/COVID19)
Cumulative totals (scdhec.gov/COVID19)
- Confirmed and probable cases: 277,563 / 23,039
- Confirmed and probable deaths: 4,804 / 394
- Tests conducted for South Carolinians: 3,606,268
Testing opportunities (scdhec.gov/COVID19testing)
- Test events available around the world: 313
Percent positive (scdhec.gov/COVID19dashboard)
- 8 139 individual test results were reported across the country yesterday (antibody tests included)
- 27.1% percent positive
Facility reports
The information above, as well as extensive reporting on country, demographics and more at the provincial level, is available at scdhec.gov/COVID19. The site has been updated between 13:00 and 15:00 on weekdays and 11:00 to 13:00 on weekends. Visit scdhec.gov/COVID19vaccine for the latest vaccination information.
Additional information and resources
###