Horry County gov’t to suspend its vaccine program, citing ongoing issues with DHEC

Horry County officials said Thursday that the county-run vaccine clinic out of the M.L. Brown Public Safety Building will have to shut down once it distributes its current supply of COVID-19 vaccines, citing ongoing issues with South Carolina’s health agency.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, county officials said they had “received assurances” from the state Dept. of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) that Horry County was eligible to receive future shipments of the coronavirus vaccine, and that it could administer those doses to the public, following DHEC’s guidelines.

But in conversations Wednesday night, the county said, DHEC said those assurances were a “miscommunication” and that the agency would not be providing future shipments of the vaccine to Horry County. The county had requested a shipment of first doses of the vaccine, the statement said, as part of its program to vaccinate the public. Horry County government in recent weeks has shifted from only offering the vaccine to county employees to the general public who meet the criteria for Phase 1a or Phase 1b. Currently, anyone over age 55, those with certain health issues, and certain front-line workers, including grocery store workers, are eligible for the vaccine.

“Despite indicating their commitment to making sure everyone who received a first dose would receive a second dose in future shipments,” the statement read, DHEC hasn’t supplied vaccine doses since mid-February.

There remain a number of venues in Horry County where members of the public can receive the coronavirus vaccine, though Thursday’s announcement means there is now one less.

Since the county began offering the vaccine to the public, about 800 people have signed up for an appointment. The county said Thursday that it had reserved enough vaccine doses to give all 800 people their first and second doses, they should still plan to show up and receive both doses of the vaccine, the statement said.

“We remain frustrated by the lack of ability from SCDHEC to consistently communicate with vaccine providers in the state,” county officials wrote in the statement. “We are not alone, and we find it necessary to speak out. We have endeavored to work cooperatively with SCDHEC, but have been thwarted at every turn.”

However, county spokesperson Kelly Moore added, “What we want folks to take away is that if you have an appointment with the county you’ll get a first and second dose.”

The issues between Horry County and DHEC date back to mid-February, when WMBF News first reported on an email from the county’s human resources department to all county employees that said everyone who works with the county was eligible to receive the vaccine.

That policy was later broadened, The Sun News learned, to allow all county employees, plus a “designee” or “plus one” to receive the vaccine. Some county employees brought elderly parents to receive the vaccine, and one member of County Council brought an elderly friend to get the vaccine through Horry County Fire/Rescue. DHEC inquired into the program and said the county had vaccinated ineligible people, and said it would withhold future shipments of the vaccine.

Part of the dispute centered on the definition of “mission critical” government employees. DHEC said those government employees could receive the vaccine under Phase 1a, but later said police officers and others Horry County allowed to receive the vaccine were not eligible. The county has maintained that it’s been open with DHEC about how it was administering the vaccine, and sought to use its supply of Moderna doses as quickly as possible to prevent them from going to waste.

As South Carolina moved from Phase 1a to Phase 1b, Horry County announced that it would use up the remainder of its vaccine supply on the general public, and allowed residents to schedule appointments through the state’s system.

The dispute between Horry County and DHEC comes as more than 27,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 400 people have died in Horry County. Hundreds of people have continued to test positive every week even as the vaccine rollout has begun.

To date, Horry County has received 4,400 totals doses of the Moderna vaccine, enough to vaccinate 2,200 people.

“We remain committed to seeing that every person in Horry County that wishes to receive a shot is able to do so,” the county said in the statement. “We appreciate the men and women of Horry County Fire Rescue that stepped up to help their community in a time of need and have done a wonderful job administering the vaccine to first responders and the most vulnerable members of our community.”

A DHEC spokesperson, Laura Renwick, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 3:02 PM.