At the Medical University of South Carolina, insufficient vaccine supplies means that the Charleston hospital system is not putting anyone new on the appointment calendar.
“We have not received enough vaccines to schedule new appointments,” says Dr. Danielle Scheurer, chief quality officer for MUSC Health.
Similar problems are being reported at other South Carolina hospitals. According to data reported to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, the amount of vaccines included in the shipments this week was lower for both MUSC and Prisma Health, the largest health systems in the state, than ever since early January.
“It’s just harder to plan,” said Scheurer. “We didn’t expect to get so much less.”
Scheurer said some appointments with the first dose are rescheduled so that vials can be used for appointments with the second dose. The hospital does not cancel the patients entirely, she said, but second doses should be prioritized because patients cannot wait too long after the first round.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best way to get the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine is three weeks after the first. The agency has said people can wait up to six weeks if necessary, but after that period there is no evidence to get the second shot.
Numbers all over the state
New cases reported: 718 confirmed, 156 likely.
Total number of cases in SC: 437,806 confirmed, 69,106 likely.
Percentage positive: 6.6 percent.
New deaths reported: 21 confirmed, six likely.
Total number of deaths in SC: 7,436 confirmed, 921 probable.
Percentage of ICU beds filled: 73 percent.
How does SC score in vaccines administered per 100,000 people?
42nd as of Feb. 22, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The worst affected areas
In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville (83), Charleston (56) and Spartanburg (53) counties saw the highest totals.
What about the tri-county?
Charleston County had 56 new cases on February 23, Berkeley had 16 and Dorchester 14.
Deaths
All newly confirmed deaths were among people 65 and older.
Hospital admissions
Of the 977 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital on February 23, 232 were in the ICU and 126 were using respirators.
What do experts say?
The CDC studied a school district in Georgia over a month of in-person instruction and found that teachers were more likely to spread the virus than students.
The finding is relevant to plans to fully reopen schools, as teachers are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine when most students are not.
Researchers from the country’s public health authority wrote that it is possible to keep COVID-19 out of schools even if the disease spreads in the community.
The CDC and local health officials studied eight elementary schools in the same Georgia school district. In any case of COVID-19 spread, physical distance and wearing a mask were not always done properly.
Lunchtime, when children do not have to wear masks, has been considered a likely culprit in the spread of the virus.
But the main finding in the study was “that teachers play an important role in school transfer.”