At the University of South Carolina Medical School, insufficient vaccine supplies mean Charleston’s hospital system is not creating anyone new to the scheduling schedule.
“We don’t have enough vaccine to schedule new meetings,” said Dr. Danielle Scheurer, chief quality officer for MUSC Health.
Similar problems are reported at other hospitals in South Carolina. According to data reported to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, the amount of vaccine included in deliveries this week was lower for both MUSC and Prisma Health, the largest health systems in the state, than at any time. since the beginning of January.
“It’s just harder to plan,” Scheurer said. “We didn’t expect to receive so little.”
Scheurer said some appointments for the first dose are rescheduled so that the vials can be used for the second dose appointments. The hospital does not completely cancel patients, she said, but the second dose should be prioritized because patients cannot wait too long after the first round.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best course is to get the second dose of Pfizer vaccine three weeks after the first. The agency said people can wait up to six weeks if necessary, but after that period, there is no evidence to support the second hit.
State level numbers
New reported cases: 718 confirmed, 156 probable.
Total cases in SC: 437,806 confirmed, 69,106 probable.
Positive percentage: 6.6 percent.
New reported deaths: 21 confirmed, six probable.
Total deaths in SC: 7,436 confirmed, 921 probable.
Percentage of filled ICU beds: 73 percent.
How is SC classified in vaccines given to 100,000 people?
42 of February 22, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The most affected areas
In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville (83), Charleston (56) and Spartanburg (53) counties recorded the highest totals.
How about tri-county?
Charleston County had 56 new cases on Feb. 23, while Berkeley had 16 and Dorchester had 14.
deaths
All new confirmed deaths reported were among people over the age of 65.
hospitalization
Of the 977 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of February 23, 232 were in the IU and 126 were using ventilators.
What do the experts say?
The CDC studied a school district in Georgia over a month of personal training and found that teachers appear to be more likely to spread the virus than students.
The finding is relevant for plans to completely reopen schools, as educators are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, while most students are not.
Researchers at the national public health authority have written that it is possible to keep COVID-19 out of schools, even when the disease spreads in the community.
The CDC and local health officials studied eight elementary schools in the same school district in Georgia. In each case of COVID-19 spread, the physical distance and wearing of the mask was not always performed correctly.
Lunch, when children are not asked to wear masks, was thought to be the culprit for the spread of the virus.
But the key finding in the research was “that educators play an important role in school transmission.”