With Vaccine Eligibility Expanding in SC, Appointment Finding Still a Spotty Process | COVID-19

For millions in South Carolina, March 8 was the first day they could sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine.

But with so many people clamoring for appointments and thousands on waiting lists, the relaxed rules didn’t mean everyone was successful in planning their shot.

A year after the first two cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state, about 2.7 million additional South Carolina residents became eligible for the vaccine Monday, including anyone 55 and older, people with underlying health conditions or disabilities, and anyone who has to. work personally. The new guidelines, announced last week, mean the majority of the state can seek an appointment.

But with dozens of vaccine providers to choose from and each with different scheduling systems, many of the appointments found were not easy to find.

After spending hours on the phone with half a dozen pharmacies and the Prisma Health hospital group on the morning of March 8, Nikki Thompson was able to schedule one of the vaccine appointments she needs.

Thompson, a stay-at-home parent to four children who qualify for her health, initially found an appointment a three-hour drive from her home in Greenville. The couple’s 4-year-old son has a chronic lung disease that has left him with a cold in an emergency department and has made the family even more cautious over the past year.

“We counted down the days for the vaccine,” Thompson said.

Then early in the afternoon, Thompson discovered two appointments closer to home at Ingles Pharmacy in Greenville for March 21. The trick was to call, not search online, she said.

Still in the last phase

South Carolina went on to take the next steps to vaccinate as much of the public as possible before the highest priority individuals have all had a chance.

According to data from the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, only about one-third of the state population eligible for the first stage of eligibility has completed their vaccinations. That population includes people aged 65 and older, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, health professionals and first responders.

By March 5, about 531,000 people 65 and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, representing about 57 percent of the South Carolina population in that age group.

At the Medical University of South Carolina, the low vaccine supply has meant that the health system has been unable to schedule new appointments for weeks. About 40,000 people are on the MUSC waiting list, all of whom are qualified in the first stage of the state. It is possible that some of those thousands have now found an appointment elsewhere.

At Conway Medical Center, just outside Myrtle Beach, 1,900 first-stage people are on the hospital’s waiting list. By the afternoon of March 8, 3,000 more people had requested appointments, putting it on track for most requests in one day since the hospital opened its portal on January 13.

Still, state health officials have said enough progress has been made and enough commitments have been left open statewide to move forward. Nick Davidson, senior deputy for public health at DHEC, said on March 5, “almost” all residents and long-term care staff have had at least the chance to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Availability a moving target

With eligibility further opened, DHEC is directing the public to use its website, vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov, where dots glow green where appointments are supposedly available.

A health agency spokeswoman said the website is updated several times a day. However, clicking on a green dot does not always mean that an appointment is guaranteed and that slots are taken quickly.

“It is important to note that a provider’s ability to schedule appointments can change every day based on vaccine availability – more appointments will open when facilities receive their direct shipments for the week – and because individuals cancel appointments for a variety of reasons, ”said the DHEC spokeswoman. .

Demand still outweighs supply, she said.

Some health care providers, meanwhile, were sending mixed signals: Despite being a designated vaccinator for weeks, a sign on the window of a local CFS pharmacy said, “The COVID-19 vaccine is CURRENTLY NOT available in CFS locations.” The website contradicted that statement.

Educators, who belong to the eligible group on March 8, are also likely to undermine some of the state’s weekly supply of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine. Ryan Brown, spokesman for Superintendent Molly Spearman, said more than 30 districts have announced clinics for their employees this week or next.

The state’s nearly 123,000 K-12 workers represent a small percentage of those newly qualified. All 79 South Carolina school districts had developed vaccination plans prior to last week’s announcement.

And while the limited supply hinders some districts’ ability to implement those plans quickly, especially along the coast, most have no problem, Brown said.

“We are seeing a lot of vaccine providers jump,” he said. “In general, especially in rural areas, they have been through it because they have plans and providers know they can take out a lot of eligible people at once.”

Some people were lucky enough to access vaccine appointments before they were technically eligible on March 8.

Both Vicki Viers and her husband are eligible because they are in their early 60s. Viers, a Huger resident and real estate agent, managed to arrange an appointment for her husband on Saturday and received a shot in the arm Monday morning.

Viers plans to drive more than two hours to Camden on March 10 for her own appointment.

Originally from West Virginia, Viers said she would be willing to drive to her home state for a vaccine if she has to. The virus has kept her away from her family and hindered her efforts to build her real estate business as she and her husband moved to South Carolina only about a year and a half ago. Now that she’s scheduled, Viers plans to visit her mother, who has also been vaccinated, and see her grandchildren in Mount Pleasant and Ohio.

“I haven’t seen the grandchildren in a year, except through windows,” she said. “I can’t wait for hugs.”

Good news for Viers and anyone looking forward to seeing their families, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is acceptable on March 8 for people who are fully vaccinated to meet for small indoor gatherings.

With appointments for herself and her husband, Viers said she’s moved on to looking for a way to schedule other members of her family who are newly eligible.

Sean Adcox contributed reporting from Columbia, and Nick Masuda contributed from Myrtle Beach.