With vaccine available, how much have COVID cases decreased at Horry nursing homes?
Once home to some of the most severe COVID-19 safety precautions, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are now vaccinating residents and beginning to dig themselves out of a nearly year-long hole of isolation, infection and fear.
The numbers show the beginning of a long process out of the pandemic.
In the last 30 days, long-term care facilities in Horry County seem to show a drop in coronavirus cases as the vaccine has become more widely available to them.
How do the latest numbers compare to the first months of the pandemic?
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control began reporting case data for long-term care facilities in April. From April through January, Horry County facilities reported 433 resident cases and 308 staff cases, according to DHEC data. In that time frame, 78 residents of long-term care facilities died of COVID-19.
Different facilities faced outbreaks at different times, and the severity of the coronavirus spread in Horry County has fluctuated since the beginning of the pandemic. But on average, that breaks down to about 43 cases in residents and 31 cases in staff each month. Around eight resident deaths were reported per month on average at the facilities.
In the last 30 days, though, those three stats have significantly dropped across Horry County facilities. Only 17 resident cases, 14 staff cases and two resident deaths were reported, DHEC data shows.
Vaccine gives community living centers hope and ‘energy’
Brightwater Senior Living Communities, which is made up of both a nursing center and an independent living community, has had four vaccination clinics through CVS pharmacies, and two more are planned in the coming weeks, according to Executive Director Michael Fink. The vaccine availability is giving the community a boost, he said.
“One word that really fits this is the energy that we have now,” Fink said. “You’re seeing a lot of our members really blossom.”
Nearly 100% of all Brightwater residents have been at least partially vaccinated, Fink said. Staff members, who Fink called “superheroes” during the pandemic, have started receiving vaccines, too. By the time all six clinics are complete, Fink said around 68% of residents and staff will be vaccinated, pushing the community closer to “herd immunity” range.
Even after the clinics are over, Brightwater will be able to provide the vaccine to new staff members or residents who need it, Fink said.
Some long-term care facilities still have ‘active’ outbreaks
Residents and employees at long-term care facilities are included in Phase 1A of the state’s coronavirus vaccine rollout, meaning they were at the top of the list when the vaccine first arrived in South Carolina in December.
Most of the state’s Moderna vaccine doses are going to long-term care facilities as of now. Pharmacies have received more than 165,000 Moderna doses as part of the state’s plan to vaccinate residents and staff at those facilities.
DHEC separates long-term care facilities into two categories: nursing homes and community residential care facilities. Nursing homes have taken the hardest hit of the two, with 322 resident cases, 222 staff cases and 58 deaths reported since the beginning of the pandemic at eight Horry County nursing homes.
Outbreaks of COVID-19 are also monitored, with facilities listed as “not active” or “active,” meaning at least one case has been reported in the last 14 days. As of Friday, seven facilities in Horry County were listed with an active status. DHEC updates the long-term care facility data twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Tracking COVID-19 in Horry and Georgetown counties
As vaccines begin to pull community living centers closer to pre-pandemic normalcy, the rest of Horry County continues to grapple with increased case numbers.
In the last week, Horry County has added nearly 700 new cases, bringing the county’s total to 26,863 since the beginning of the pandemic last March. Across the county, 409 people have died of COVID-19 in Horry County, according to DHEC.
In Georgetown County, 4,103 cases and 93 deaths have been reported so far in the pandemic.
The latest numbers come as Gov. Henry McMaster announced he would lift the state’s “last call” order that halted liquor sales at bars and restaurants at 11 p.m. That order had been in place since July as a strategy to mitigate the spread of the virus.
