COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on May 13

We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.

More than 200 new cases reported

At least 486,761 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina and 8,467 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 229 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up from 182 reported the day before.

Fourteen coronavirus-related deaths were also reported

At least 373 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday, and 100 patients were in intensive care units.

As of Thursday, 4.7% of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower indicates a low risk of community spread.

More than 1.4 million South Carolina residents, or 35%, have completed vaccination against COVID-19, and more than 1.7 million, or 44%, have received at least one dose.

12- to 15-year-olds eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in S.C.

South Carolina parents can now get more children vaccinated against COVID-19, state health officials announced Wednesday.

Beginning May 13, kids between 12 and 15 years old will be eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded emergency use authorization to adolescents, The Island Packet reported.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control had waited for a federal advisory panel to OK the expansion before it would allow 12- to 15-year-olds in the state to be inoculated.

The vaccine was previously available to residents 16 and older.

SC education officials lift mask rule but criticize McMaster

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman on Wednesday lifted the requirement that students and staff wear face masks in schools, but education officials had some choice words for Gov. Henry McMaster.

Spearman’s decision came less than a day after McMaster issued an executive order effectively preventing schools from imposing mask rules. She chose to rescind the requirement “rather than wage a debate over constitutionality that would pit elected officials, students, and families against one another,” Department of Education spokesman Ryan Brown wrote in an email to district superintendents.

The department’s lawyers said McMaster’s order had shaky legal grounding, but Spearman reportedly felt the mask rule was now unenforceable nonetheless.

“The Governor thoroughly understands the rule of law and surely recognizes this but has been successful in his mission of circumventing public health guidance by inciting hysteria and sowing division in the waning days of the school year,” Brown’s email said.