COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Feb. 12
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines in South Carolina. Check back for updates.
Deaths surpass 7,000
At least 421,876 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in South Carolina and 7,057 have died since March, according to state health officials.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Friday reported 2,070 new cases, up from 1,428 on Thursday.
Forty-five additional deaths were reported Friday.
At least 1,375 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus in South Carolina as of Friday. Hospitalizations have fallen almost 44% since they peaked at 2,466 on Jan. 13.
As of Friday, 9% of COVID-19 tests were positive, down from Thursday’s 10.3%. Health officials have said the number should be closer to 5% to control the spread of the virus.
South Carolina had received 970,550 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and distributed 608,498 of those doses as of Friday, according to DHEC.
’Healthiest’ man in SC family is first to get vaccine
65-year-old Ron Auvil has “very minor health issues” compared to his sister with a lung disease and 71-year-old brother.
Still, due to his age, he was the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine in his family, The Rock Hill Herald reported.
“I’m very thankful that I have minor health issues,” Auvil recently told The Herald. “But I’d be the first one to trade with someone who really needed it.”
Brannon Traxler, South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control’s interim director of public health, has urged providers to follow state guidelines when it comes to allocating doses, saying not following them pushes those with the highest risks to the back of the line.
But Auvil said his wife, who is 64, has a number of underlying health conditions that would increase her risk of severe illness if she got COVID-19.
SC schools to get nearly $900 million
Public and private schools in South Carolina will receive close to $900 million to help make their classrooms safer during the coronavirus pandemic.
The funds include an $846 million one-time grant to reopen public schools and nearly $40 million for private schools, The State reported. The news comes as Gov. Henry McMaster and state schools chief Molly Spearman push schools to reopen for in-person instruction five days a week.
There are currently 682 schools in South Carolina that have reopened with face-to-face instruction while 553 are still using a mix of in-person and online learning. Just 31 schools are still teaching strictly online, including some in Calhoun and Lee counties.
“The data shows schools are safe. We do not have to vaccinate everybody in order to go back to school five days a week, clearly it shows that,” Spearman said at a State Board of Education meeting this week.
Beaufort County schools may give staff COVID bonuses
The Beaufort County School District’s finance committee is recommending that the school board approve one-time bonuses to some staff as COVID-19 hazard pay, The Island Packet reported.
Per the committee’s recommendation, full-time staff would receive $1,000, while part-time employees who work three to four days per week would get $500. Staff that work between one and two days would get $250.
Custodians, cafeteria workers and other contract employees would not get bonuses.
The total amount given and when won’t be decided until after the district collects Beaufort County’s tax bills, which have been delayed this year, meaning bonuses likely wouldn’t be seen until at least April.
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in South Carolina on Feb. 12."