Does Myrtle Beach have a post-pandemic summer in store? Here’s what local doctors say
Summer 2021 is on the horizon, and many have their hopes up that it will be much more fun than summer 2020. Myrtle Beach area doctors largely agree that some pre-COVID activities can bounce back, but one thing continues to give them pause.
The demand for vaccines across Horry County and South Carolina has slowed, and doctors worry that if too many people resist getting the COVID-19 vaccine, it could mean more challenges to eradicating, or at least mitigating, the spread of the virus in the community.
Top doctors at four area hospitals joined The Sun News reporter Mary Norkol on Monday to discuss their hopes and concerns for the months ahead.
Doctors urge vaccination as demand slows in Horry County and South Carolina
More than 140,000 people in Horry County have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of Monday, but it’s becoming more likely that true “herd immunity” will be out of reach as people aren’t getting vaccinated quickly enough and the more contagious variants of the virus are spreading quickly.
Horry County has recorded more than 29,000 cases of the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic last March, and 447 people in the county have died of COVID-19, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
With parts of the population refusing to wear masks or get vaccinated, the spread of the virus is likely to continue, according to Dr. Gerald Harmon, vice president of medical affairs at Tidelands Health.
“The vaccine is our chance to go on offense against this virus,” he said.
Dr. Paul Richardson, chief medical officer at Conway Medical Center, said his response to people who worry about the contents of the vaccine is simple: It is safe. He said the science behind developing the COVID-19 vaccines has been in the works for decades and it has been extensively tested.
Protecting Myrtle Beach against COVID-19 during tourism season
Myrtle Beach’s vulnerability to the spread of the virus could increase in the coming months as holiday weekends like Memorial Day and July 4th could draw people from all over the country to the beach. Though more visitors could mean more COVID-19 cases, the first line of defense is ensuring the local population is vaccinated, according to Dr. Robert Sherertz, an infectious disease specialist at Grand Strand Health.
“If we reach a very high percentage of vaccination locally, then the scattered people who come in who have not been vaccinated are going to have much less of an impact,” Sherertz said. “If we don’t get much higher than where we currently are, then we’ll be much more likely to have little bursts and clusters of infection as the summer progresses.”
Public health guidance regarding wearing a mask and social distancing varies depending on who is vaccinated and who isn’t, but people should keep in mind that the best way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is to get vaccinated and continue wearing masks in public, said Dr. Kevin Dineen, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at McLeod Health.
“Being in larger groups, being indoor, being on airlines I think you still have to take cautions and precautions because you really don’t know about the vaccination status of the other people in the area,” Dineen said.
The long road to vaccine availability
The doctors at the panel also reflected on a year of loss, tragedy and extreme challenges that preceded the vaccine’s widespread availability.
Bearing the emotional toll of a pandemic and the economic consequences was difficult for everyone, but frontline healthcare workers had a unique perspective, involving helping loved ones through losses but also a change of their everyday work experiences.
“From a physician’s standpoint, talking to my colleagues, it was quite brutal there for several several weeks,” said Richardson. “Seeing these patients, many did respond [to treatment], some responded some did not. And that really hits home and hits us very hard.”
Richardson added that something the general public might not think about or understand is the level of protection that each healthcare professional is required to have before treating patients. The amount of personal protective equipment they wear can be an obstacle and take a toll as well, he said.
Looking toward the summer and beyond, COVID-19 is likely here to stay. The hope is to get it to the point where it’s more akin to the flu, not as deadly or severe as the coronavirus was throughout 2020.
There are also some pandemic-era practices that doctors would prefer become second-nature even after the area is largely rid of the coronavirus. Hand-washing and avoiding touching the face should be a standard practice whether in the midst of a pandemic or not, Dineen said.
