As CCU’s COVID spike continues, could SC’s proposed vaccine recalculation affect Horry?
A recent surge of coronavirus cases at Coastal Carolina and across Horry County continued this week as a proposed vaccine allocation method could mean changes to the county’s vaccine stock.
Coastal Carolina added 34 positive cases reported Friday by the university, including 28 among students.
Cases at the university have spiked in the three weeks since the start of the spring semester on Jan. 19. There have been at least 30 positive cases each week after the university went 17 consecutive weeks without more than 20 cases dating back to late September.
There were also 20 cases for the week of Jan. 14-20, giving CCU 119 total cases since many students returned to campus for the spring semester. Since June, CCU has reported 516 positive coronavirus cases – 408 students, 98 faculty/staff and 10 school affiliates. Weekly test numbers are through 5 p.m. each Wednesday.
The positive test results are the combined totals of all university symptomatic testing – the general student population is being tested only when students request a test because they are symptomatic – regular surveillance testing results of student-athletes per Sun Belt Conference and NCAA guidelines, including at least weekly testing for in-season athletes, and positive test results reported by students, employees, and school affiliates.
DHEC reconsiders vaccine allocation model
People 65 and older can now get the COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina, and health care providers in the area have wait lists that are tens of thousands of names long as seniors scramble to get appointments. DHEC officials this week acknowledged the vaccine rollout across the state hasn’t been as equitable as they would like, saying some rural counties have been left behind in favor of more populous counties, like Horry.
A proposed model allocating vaccines to counties per capita would even out the distribution, DHEC senior deputy for public health Nick Davidson said while presenting the model to the agency’s board. The current distribution model considers supply, demand and uptake of the vaccine, not strictly population. For Horry County and other populous S.C. counties, switching could mean a drop in vaccine allocations. The model hasn’t been approved as board members delayed making a final decision due to activity in the state legislature that could have an impact on vaccine distribution.
A recently introduced bill in the state Senate would allocate $208 million to vaccine distribution and encourages DHEC to disperse vaccine doses based on region per capita, instead of by county. Lawmakers also urged DHEC to consider factors like age, poverty level, high-risk populations and infection rates when distributing the vaccine.
Of around 1.3 million people included in South Carolina’s first vaccination phase, only 35% have been vaccinated and only around 9% have received both doses of the vaccine, according to DHEC. The goal is to move into phase 1B in the early spring, according to DHEC.
COVID-19 in Horry and Georgetown counties
Horry County is also in the midst of a surge that began shortly after Thanksgiving and hasn’t let up. The county is consistently reporting more than 100 new cases daily. In total, Horry has reported 25,324 cases and 388 coronavirus deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, including nearly 900 cases in the last week, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
More than 20,000 first doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered across Horry County so far, according to DHEC.
Georgetown County has reached 3,989 cases and 91 deaths since last March, DHEC reports. More than 12,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Georgetown County, DHEC data shows.