Myrtle Beach Fire Department approved to be a COVID-19 vaccine distribution site

The Myrtle Beach Fire Department has been approved by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to be a COVID-19 vaccine provider.

Fire Chief Tom Gwyer made the announcement during a council meeting on Tuesday.

“They have approved everything for us to be a site. However, there is no vaccine available for us,” he said.

Gwyer is not sure when the department will receive the vaccine, but he said their first order of business will be to vaccinate the employees listed in the state’s vaccination plan. It will be labor-intensive, the chief added.

“It’s not just putting the shots in arms. It’s the scheduling aspect of it. It’s making sure we’re not wasting doses. It’s getting the data into the database,” he said.

Gwyer said the department has received the equipment it needs to store the vaccine, which he said can hold up to a few thousand doses.

He said the agency can serve as a mass vaccination provider once it’s available to the general public.

This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 5:11 PM.