Healthcare workers in Horry County are among first in SC to receive COVID-19 vaccine
The long awaited coronavirus vaccine arrived at the Conway Medical Center Monday morning with enough doses for 975 people.
The first to be vaccinated were five healthcare workers, and the hospital is expected to have enough Pfizer vaccinations for all employees who want one. By Monday afternoon, 105 workers had registered to get the two-part vaccination, although the hospital said it won’t be mandatory for employees to get the shot.
“Life’s not going to change for people that get vaccinated, masks will still be required,” said Angela Williford, vice president of quality at the hospital.
Which employees got the vaccine?
First in line for a shot was Dr. Stephen Brady, who works in the cardiology department of the hospital. He answered screening questions from a nurse who prepped the syringe. Brady told her that he would “look away” while she injected him with one of the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the state. He wasn’t nervous about the contents of the vile, but didn’t want to look at the needle.
“It’s an obligation for us to do it,” Brady said, urging others to do the same when it is more widely available. “If you care about your parents, your grandparents, your friends or anybody, you should feel obligated to get the vaccine.”
Dr. Simone Maybin was another one of the first five to get the shot. She sat calmly while the nurse pricked her with the needle and pushed the vaccine into her left arm.
“I felt comfortable with the vetting process,” she said after the nurse placed a band-aid on the injection site. The doctors were monitored for up to 15 minutes after the shot to make sure there were no allergic reactions. The vaccine is given in two separate doses, and the doctors will have to get a second shot in 21 days. Everyone who receives a vaccine is recorded in a secure database called VAMS or Vaccine Administration Management System, a federal database that allows the CDC and state health departments to monitor vaccine administrations.
After the first shot doctors are given a paper card that provides which COVID-19 vaccine was received, the date and location it was received, and a reminder when then the second shot is needed. The hospital said they are hoping to get another shipment of the vaccine in two weeks.
For healthcare workers, relief and hope are balanced by the grief and exhaustion of months spent battling a virus that is still surging in Horry County and the U.S.
COVID-19 cases not going anywhere
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Monday another 102 COVID-19 cases in Horry County, marking the 12th day in a row that the county recorded more than 100 cases. In total, the county has more than 15,300 cases since March. Area hospitals have been operating at or near capacity throughout the pandemic. Conway Medical Center had 27 COVID-19 patients as of Monday morning.
“We are seeing our numbers go up on a daily basis,” Williford said. “And we only expect that to continue, unfortunately.”
Despite the number of new cases trending upwards, the county and state do not have mask ordinances. The cities of Myrtle Beach, Conway and North Myrtle Beach are requiring residents to wear masks indoors, but it has not been strictly enforced. This is much to the despair of healthcare workers who urge officials to require masks. Williford said she has been “begging” county officials to institute a mask mandate.
“It is absolutely essential that we keep using these,” she said of masks. “We need to keep using these very basic very simple preventative measures.”
When’s your turn for a vaccine?
The first batch of vaccines are going to front-line medical workers and long-term care facility residents and staff. The state is expecting 43,000 doses by Wednesday and between 200,000 and 300,000 by the end of the year, according to DHEC.
There is no timetable for the general public to receive vaccinations yet, but mass vaccinations events, similar to DHEC testing events in the county, are being planned, according to Williford. The hospital has also ordered additional freezers for the vaccine to be stored in when the day gets closer.
The freezers will be used to feed outlying clinics that give the vaccine so that vials won’t go bad while sitting in coolers. The vaccine must be stored in a freezer at -106.6 Fahrenheit and taken out half an hour before injection. After that, it is mixed with saline and injected like a normal immunization shot.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 3:06 PM.
