The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Carolina has been steadily declining since a peak in early January, yet Palmetto state consistently tops the national rankings.
Adjusted for the size of each state’s population, the daily new reports of COVID-19 cases in South Carolina have been in The COVID Tracking Project’s No. 1 position for about two weeks straight.
A weekly White House report also placed South Carolina in the worst position for new cases, with a rate nearly double the national average and 20 percent higher than New York, which was the second state. South Carolina was ranked seventh in new hospital admissions in the week leading up to the report’s publication on Feb. 17.
Numbers all over the state
New cases reported: 1,585 confirmed, 393 probably.
Total number of cases in SC: 432,780 confirmed, 65,157 probably.
Percentage positive: 9 percent.
New deaths reported: 51 confirmed, 13 likely.
Total number of deaths in SC: 7,325 confirmed, 88 probable.
Percentage of IC beds filled: 77 percent.
How does SC score in vaccines administered per 100,000 people?
42nd since Feb. 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
The worst affected areas
In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville (197), Richland (139) and Horry (137) counties saw the highest totals.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County had 101 new cases on February 19, while Berkeley had 28 and Dorchester had 25.
Deaths
One of the newly confirmed deaths from COVID-19 reported on Feb. 19 was in a young adult age 18 to 34. Twelve were between the ages of 35 and 64 and the remainder were patients aged 65 and over.
Hospital admissions
Of the 1,122 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital on February 19, 265 were in the ICU and 151 were using respirators.
What do experts say?
With 13.8 million shots fired in the United States, the CDC said in a Feb. 19 investigative report that the security data is still reassuring.
Anyone who administers vaccines must report “adverse events” to government health officials. Of all those doses given, there were 7,000 reports of side effects. Nine out of ten of those incidents were non-serious, including symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness, chills, and fatigue.
“These initial findings should reassure health care providers and vaccine recipients and bolster confidence in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines,” wrote CDC researchers. They added that the vaccine safety system is the largest of its kind in US history.
And although 113 people died within days of receiving the vaccine, no death has been linked to a COVID-19 vaccination.