‘We were excited’: 106-year-old Pawleys Island woman, daughter get COVID-19 vaccine

Mary Shumpert was a young girl during the 1918 Spanish flu. Now, at 106 years old, she is living through yet another pandemic and decided to get the vaccine.

Shumpert, of Pawley’s Island, received her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Tidelands Health’s regional vaccination site in Murrells Inlet on Wednesday with her 74-year-old daughter, Suzanne Harris.

Harris, who serves as her mother’s caretaker, said they were both thrilled to get the vaccine and enjoyed sharing that experience together.

“We were not nervous at all to receive the vaccine with Tidelands at the helm. We were excited having the opportunity as we had family and friends who were not as fortunate,” Harris said in an emailed statement to The Sun News.

Shumpert is the oldest person to receive the vaccine from Tidelands since it began distribution in December, the health care provider said in a release on Wednesday.

The pair received the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine a few weeks ago. They were able to schedule their appointments without any problems, Harris said.

Since the start of the pandemic, Harris and Shumpert have been wearing their masks and social distancing to keep safe. They plan to continue doing so despite getting the vaccine.

“It feels very good to have this layer of protection, but (we) understand we will still need to be vigilant when around others to protect them as well as ourselves,” Harris said.

Shumpert and Harris, who have been living together for over 15 years, said they have spent the pandemic praying together and watching old movies. They said they “feel very fortunate to have this time together.”

In Greenville, S.C., a 111-year-old woman got vaccinated at Prisma Health with her family, The (Columbia) State reported. Like Shumpert, Maria Aulenbacher survived the Spanish flu, which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention calls the “most severe pandemic in recent history.” In a news release, Prisma said Aulenbacher is the “oldest resident” in South Carolina.

Vaccine rollout hitting bumps in the road

Horry County hospitals offering the COVID-19 vaccine to seniors said that more people want the vaccine than they have doses to give. In January, Conway Medical Center and Tidelands reported having tens of thousands registered to get it.

Not only that, but people who are not supposed to get the vaccine until later in the year, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s vaccine rollout plan, has gotten one. Grand Strand Medical Center vaccinated people in January that do not fall under phase 1a, which is currently ongoing and only allows healthcare medical workers and people over 70 to get vaccinated.

This month, Gov. Henry McMaster and the DHEC announced that people ages 65 or older will be included in phase 1A of the state’s vaccination plan. This decision came as hospitals continue to deal with increased demand and long waiting lists.