Horry has one of the highest vaccination rates in SC. Why experts say it’s not enough
President Joe Biden set a goal of 70% of Americans vaccinated against COVID-19 by the July 4 holiday. The day came and went without that goal, and Horry County is still a far cry from that percentage of residents vaccinated.
Horry County has about 56% of eligible residents vaccinated against the virus, one of the highest rates in the state, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Horry County falls only behind Georgetown and Charleston counties, with about 60% and around 64% of eligible residents vaccinated, respectively.
But Horry County’s number of vaccinated residents is “not enough,” according to local doctors, even though it’s higher than the statewide vaccination rate of 49%. DHEC aims to get between 70-80% of the population vaccinated against the virus to reach herd immunity and continue the pandemic recovery.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 600,000 South Carolinians have tested positive for the virus, and 9,860 people have died, according to DHEC. In Horry County, more than 40,000 people have contracted the virus and 586 people have died, DHEC figures show.
The demand for the vaccine is leveling off in the Myrtle Beach area before it has truly reached herd immunity levels, raising questions about if the pandemic could get worse before it gets better.
“I don’t want to go back to where I was last July,” said Dr. Harmon, vice president of medical affairs at Tidelands Health. “We were just physically and emotionally beat.”
While official campaigns and strategies from state agencies have helped get people vaccinated, personal influence will be more vital going forward, according to Derrek Asberry, a DHEC spokesman.
What’s more is the demand for vaccine doses in Horry County has dropped significantly, according to Dr. Paul Richardson, chief medical officer at Conway Medical Center. A slight drop in demand was anticipated as the vaccine became more widely available, but it’s disproportionate to the number of residents who have yet to receive their doses, Richardson said.
“Did the vaccine demand drop? I would say it’s completely almost nonexistent anymore,” Richardson said.
The focus has shifted to encouraging young people receiving their vaccine, as children as young as 12 are eligible to get inoculated. Roughly 5,500 Horry County residents ages 12-19 have gotten the shot.
The state health department and local hospitals continue to try to get more people vaccinated, but people resist the shot for a number of reasons, and some doctors fear nothing will convince some of the people holding out.
“I’ve been shouting from the rooftops, lots of folks are out there shouting from the rooftops, we’re in it every day,” Richardson said. “There’s a lot of eligible candidates out there choosing not to vaccinate.”
As the contagious delta variant of the coronavirus accounts for more than half of COVID-19 cases across the U.S., the need to get vaccinated is that much more important, according to Dr. Brannon Traxler, public health director of DHEC.
“Current public health recommendations don’t change with it,” Traxler said. “Getting vaccinated as soon as possible is the best way to protect against this virus and all of the variants, including the delta one.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
