SC now 50% vaccinated, reaching COVID milestone in effort to stop surge

Half of eligible South Carolinians are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a major milestone as the state works to stop the ongoing surge of COVID-19.

The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control announced the news Thursday, adding its goal is to get 70-80% of eligible residents vaccinated.

“Reaching this 50% benchmark is a testament to the countless hours DHEC and partner staff have put into putting these life-saving doses into arms,” agency Director Dr. Edward Simmer said in a statement. “It’s also indicative of our outreach efforts, work with local and state leaders, and so many others who understand how important vaccination is to ending this pandemic.”

Gov. Henry McMaster, who is vaccinated, also celebrated the news.

“We’ve reached an important milestone with over 50% of eligible South Carolinians making the decision to get vaccinated, but the reemergence of the virus shows that we have more work to do,” McMaster said in a statement. “Ultimately, the decision to get vaccinated or not is a personal one, but I would ask every South Carolinian to consult your doctor and speak with trusted family and friends in order to make the most educated decision possible.”

But despite reaching 50%, Simmer warned that the state needed to make more progress.

The mission, he said, “is not over because the pandemic is not over. We need more South Carolinians to step up and get vaccinated so we can stamp COVID out once and for all.”

To find a vaccine location, visit vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/

The vaccine milestone comes as South Carolina is in the middle of a period of explosive COVID-19 spread, starting earlier this summer.

From April through the end of June, the state saw a major decline in cases reported each day. But in August, the state recorded COVID-19 numbers that rivaled South Carolina’s worst spike in January.

In August alone, the state saw 112,746 reported coronavirus cases, 85% of which were from unvaccinated people. Unvaccinated residents also accounted for 71% of hospitalizations and 75% of deaths in August.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, South Carolina has logged more than 650,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 10,000 confirmed deaths.

The state also has reported more than 150,000 probable cases and about 1,500 deaths that were likely due to COVID-19.

South Carolina has the 18th highest death rate in the U.S., with one in every 450 South Carolinians dying of the virus since the start of the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis. That’s higher than the national rate of one in every 500 Americans who have died due to the virus.

The number of vaccinated South Carolinians could continue to rise in the month’s ahead.

This month, the Biden administration said it hopes to enforce a new vaccine mandate for millions of U.S. workers.

The new mandate would include a requirement that companies with more than 100 employees ensure workers are vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 each week.

In all, employee vaccination mandates could impact more than 100 million workers across the country, the administration said.