Horry County government workers were given a vaccine. So were their friends and family.
In the past month, a majority of Horry County employees have received at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In some cases, friends and family members of county employees have been vaccinated, too.
That policy, seemingly adopted because the county sought to distribute its allocation of Moderna vaccine doses as quickly as possible, has now raised concerns with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). That agency, which has led the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, is seeking answers from county leaders about who was allowed to receive the vaccine and why.
According to a Jan. 15 email Horry County Human Resources sent to all county employees, as well as elected and appointed officials, the county offered the Moderna vaccine to all “full-time, part-time, and temporary employees as well as volunteers and interns who work within the capacity of County departments.”
Since then, according to two county officials and a letter the county sent to DHEC this week, employees could also have a “designee” or a “plus one,” as one county council member described it, sign up to receive the vaccine, too.
DHEC is now seeking answers from the county about why it distributed its supply of vaccines that way, concerned that the county did not follow guidelines under the agency’s “Phase 1A” of the vaccine distribution. In phase 1A, healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents and employees, people aged 65 and older and “mission critical” state and local government employees are eligible to receive the vaccine.
“Most importantly, we wish to know whether Horry County Fire/Rescue did indeed schedule and vaccinate county employees or others who are not recognized as being Phase 1A eligible,” DHEC wrote to Horry County officials in a Feb. 14 letter.
The letter was first reported by WMBF News.
Horry County responds to DHEC’s inquiry
So far, Horry County Fire Rescue, the department authorized to administer the vaccine to county employees, has received 3,800 first doses of the Moderna vaccine and 1,100 second doses. DHEC data show that Horry County Fire Rescue has administered nearly 2,000 of the first doses and 357 of the second doses. According to its most recent budget, Horry County has 2,567 employees.
In response to DHEC’s letter, Horry County officials said that they consulted with two DHEC officials before administering any vaccines. Ben Lawson, the county’s emergency medical services manager, wrote in a Feb. 15 letter to DHEC that the county “planned to use the allotment of vaccines with the understanding from (the two DHEC officials) to do so as quickly as possible and with as little waste as possible.”
Lawson added that in following those guidelines, the county also allowed employees to schedule vaccine appointments for a plus-one.
“In consideration of that guidance, employees who opted to receive the vaccine were granted a designee to also receive a vaccine with an emphasis on those who met Phase lA criteria,” Lawson wrote. “We recognize and appreciate the criteria system and will continue to assist the State in this critical mission.”
The dispute over the county’s vaccine distribution comes as people included in phase 1A across the county and state have been left frustrated after having trouble securing a vaccine appointment. Waiting lists at area hospitals are tens of thousands of names long and hospitals are awaiting more a substantial supply of the vaccine.
Some members of Horry County Council said they were told they could receive the vaccine, but declined to do so because they felt that they didn’t need it, and that they and their families shouldn’t receive it before others. Tyler Servant, who at 30 years old is the youngest member of council, said he was one of those people.
“From the information I received, all county employees were offered a vaccination,” he said. “For me personally, I decided to decline the vaccine due to my age and the fact that I think there are people in our community and state that need the vaccine more.”
A change in policy?
That Horry County has allowed friends and family members of county employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine appears to be the result of a policy change made in January.
According to the Jan. 15 email sent to all county employees by the human resources department, no family members of county employees were allowed to schedule vaccine appointments with Horry County Fire Rescue.
“At this time, we are not able to offer vaccines for family members,” the email stated.
Two weeks later, human resources sent another email to all county employees regarding the vaccine, Marion Foxworth, the county’s registrar of deeds, said. And in recent weeks, several people affiliated with the county have had friends or family members schedule appointments for vaccines. Foxworth said two employees in his office initially didn’t want to receive the vaccine, but later scheduled appointments because they wished to have elderly family members vaccinated, too.
County Council member Harold Worley, too, said that he helped a friend schedule an appointment with the county after he received his shot. Because Worley and his friend are both in their 70s, he said, he felt like they were both following all of the guidelines.
“If I was 50 I wouldn’t have gotten it because I don’t want to jump ahead of anyone,” he said.
County spokesperson Kelly Moore confirmed that the county allowed designees to receive the vaccine, but declined to answer specific questions about the policy. According to Lawson’s letter, it appears that designees had to be 65 or older, or fit another of the DHEC criteria.
“Horry County Government has been administering the vaccine to essential employees, related personnel, and designees of essential employees and related personnel,” Moore wrote in a statement. “This vaccination model was recommended by SCDHEC and ensures we can maintain critical government functions. The guidance continues to be that we administer the vaccine doses that we have been allocated as quickly as possible. As we receive more doses, we will expand our process with guidance from our state and federal partners.”
She added: “We understand that many of our community members are anxious to receive their vaccination, and we will continue to work with SCDHEC to assist with that mission. We remain committed to keeping our community safe.”
Questions about Horry County vaccine policy remain
In the initial letter to the county, DHEC officials referenced reports of ineligible people receiving the vaccine in Horry County, asking for a better understanding of who has been vaccinated and how the vaccination efforts were planned.
A call between the two entities is scheduled for next week and they have been in contact since the original letter, according to a DHEC spokesperson.
“We understand everyone’s goal is to vaccinate as many South Carolinians as possible; however, it’s critical that all vaccine providers follow the state’s carefully developed vaccine guidance, as this is the best way to ensure all South Carolinians have fair and equitable access to the vaccine, which remains so limited at this time,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Sun News.
She didn’t answer questions on whether the agency has confirmed that Horry County has vaccinated people outside the phase 1A criteria, or if any of the county employees vaccinated were outside the “mission-critical” designation outlined in phase 1A by DHEC.
Tracking COVID-19 cases and vaccinations in the Myrtle Beach area
The vaccine rollout in the Myrtle Beach area has been slow going, much like the rest of the state and country, parking frustration among residents trying to get a vaccine as soon as possible. Tidelands Health announced its largest number of administered vaccines last week with around 5,200 people receiving the vaccine, according to spokesperson Dawn Bryant.
That slow rollout, and Horry County’s vaccine policy, has led some to question whether the policy is fair. County Council member Johnny Vaught said that he thinks only immediate family members of county employees should be allowed to be designees.
“I don’t think it’s fair, I don’t think it’s right to have a designee unless that person is part of your family,” he said. “We got the vaccine released to us so that we could keep county employees safe and keep county services operating.”
He added: “To me, if there was a designee, it should be your wife or someone you’re in constant contact with so you can protect yourself.”
The only factor keeping Tidelands from administering more vaccines is the supply coming from the state, Bryant wrote. Tidelands is working through its roughly 15,000-person wait list before accepting more requests.
Conway Medical Center (CMC) administered around 2,000 shots this week and its clinic is running each day of the week, spokesperson Allyson Floyd said. This week, the hospital surpassed the 20,000 mark for administered vaccines since the first doses in December.
When the amount of doses allocated to CMC increases, the staff is prepared to increase the number of sites where people can get a vaccine, Floyd said.
While vaccinations are increasing, so are COVID-19 cases in the area. Since Monday, Horry County has added nearly 800 cases, bringing its total count to 26,117 since last March. An additional 10 people have died of the coronavirus this week, according to DHEC.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 5:19 PM.
