What percentage of your Horry County community is vaccinated? Check our ZIP code data
The vaccination rate in Horry County is rising as the area continues to face surging coronavirus cases, but not all parts of the county are created equal when it comes to vaccines.
As a whole, Horry has reached around 58% of its eligible population fully vaccinated, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). That’s outpacing the state, which surpassed 50% of its eligible population vaccinated last week. But Horry County is large, and certain areas have a much higher vaccine uptake than others, as some ZIP codes report more than 70% of their populations vaccinated while others have barely reached a quarter.
Horry County joins much of the country in facing yet another surge in cases and hospitalizations, largely spurred by the emergence and dominance of the delta variant, which is known to affect a younger unvaccinated population and spread more easily than other strains of COVID-19. Horry County has added more than 2,000 cases and 31 deaths to its total count in the last week, according to data kept by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While each ZIP code saw an uptick in its vaccination rate since late August, there’s still a wide disparity showing some communities are getting vaccinated more than others. It’s important to note the vaccine is only available for the population 12 and older, so if a certain ZIP code has a larger juvenile population, the vaccination rate could be lower as a result.
Here are Horry County’s ZIP codes ranked by vaccination rate as of Sept. 23
1. 29572 - Myrtle Beach
One of the two main ZIP codes in Myrtle Beach has the highest vaccination rate in the county with nearly 81% of its population vaccinated, according to DHEC. It’s about 4% more than last month, when the ZIP code had just under 77% of its population inoculated.
2. 29582 - North Myrtle Beach
The North Myrtle Beach area falls just under 80% for its vaccination rate. Ranking second, more than 13,000 people in the 29582 ZIP code have gotten their COVID-19 vaccine, DHEC data shows.
3. 29566 - Little River
The Little River area has almost reached three-quarters of its population vaccinated at 74.4% as of Thursday. The area had just over 70% immunization through vaccines at the end of August.
4. 29588 - Socastee and Forestbrook
At around 65% of its population vaccinated, the 29588 ZIP code ranks fourth in Horry County. Almost 2,000 people have been vaccinated in the last month, pushing the rate from around 61% to 65%, according to DHEC data.
5. 29577 - Myrtle Beach
The Myrtle Beach area covered by the 29577 ZIP code shows a nearly 63% vaccination rate as more than 20,000 people have gotten the shot that live in this region.
6. 29579 - Carolina Forest
One of the county’s largest ZIP codes by population, around 62.6% of the 29579 ZIP code has been vaccinated, according to data from the state health department. That’s a jump from a 58% vaccination rate last month.
7. 29575 - Surfside Beach and Garden City
The Surfside Beach and Garden City area, covered by ZIP code 29575, recorded a vaccination rate of around 62.3% as of Thursday. The area has more than 11,000 people who have gotten inoculated.
8. 29526 - Conway and Red Hill
The 29526 ZIP code is almost 10 percentage points below the next-highest ZIP code in Surfside Beach and Garden City. At around 53% vaccinated, the area is the largest ZIP code by population in Horry County and has vaccinated more than 25,000 people.
9. 29568 - Longs
The Longs area has barely cracked half of its population at 52% vaccinated. Last month, the vaccination rate in the 29568 ZIP code was around 49%.
10. 29576 - Murrells Inlet and Garden City
On the southern end of Horry County, the 29576 area hasn’t yet reached half of its population vaccinated. With around 16,000 people having gotten the shot as of Thursday, the vaccination rate is around 49%.
11. 29569 - Loris
Around 41% of Loris area residents are vaccinated, according to DHEC data. That’s still an increase from around 38%, which was the area’s vaccination rate in late August.
12. 29544 - Galivants Ferry
The 29544 ZIP code recorded just under 39% of its residents vaccinated as of Thursday. It’s one of the smallest areas by population in Horry County, and around 2,000 people have gotten immunized through vaccination.
13. 29527 - Conway, Bucksport and Bucksville
The 29527 ZIP code recorded a jump of around 3% from its 35% vaccination rate at the end of August. The area now reports around 38% of its population vaccinated.
14. 29511 - Aynor
In the Aynor part of the county, 37% of residents have been vaccinated, according to DHEC data. The area saw only around a third of its population vaccinated about a month ago.
15. 29545 - Green Sea
The smallest ZIP code by population, the Green Sea area has vaccinated 583 of its around 1,600 residents, coming out to a vaccination rate of around 36%.
16. 29581 - Nichols and Ketchuptown
The lowest vaccination rate in Horry County is in the 29581 ZIP code, falling around 10 percentage points below its next-highest neighbor. The Nichols and Ketchuptown area has just barely a quarter of its population vaccinated with a 25.7% vaccination rate, DHEC data shows.
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 1:07 PM.
