Eligible for COVID shot in SC’s Phase 1b? Here’s what to know in the Rock Hill area

South Carolina health officials will broaden coronavirus vaccine eligibility beginning March 8 to more than half the state’s population. Although it’s raising concerns there could be a mad rush for shots, state and local officials say they’re ready.

The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control officials estimate Phase 1b — initially intended to account for 574,000 people — will now include about 2.7 million South Carolinians. On Monday, Phase 1b, in combination with the state’s current Phase 1a, will allow 4 million South Carolina residents to get a coronavirus shot — or roughly 78% of the state’s population.

Phase 1b extends eligibility to anyone age 55 and older, people age 16 to 64 with preexisting conditions, and front-line essential workers, such as teachers, law enforcement officers, postal workers and grocery store workers.

South Carolina has received an increase each week in vaccine supply, Nick Davidson, DHEC senior deputy for public health, said during a media briefing Wednesday.

“Supply is the largest challenge,” Davidson said. “We began to hear information about vaccine appointments not filling fast enough, so with the increase in vaccine providers, the incremental increase in doses, it just makes sense to be moving to 1b.”

Are York, Lancaster counties providers ready?

So far, the state has 482 activated providers and 685 enrolled providers waiting to start giving out shots, state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said Wednesday.

The agency will add more than 120 independent pharmacies this week across the state, Davidson said.

“We also want to increase the number of providers across the state because we need to get closer to where everybody is,” he said.

Rock Hill officials have not yet received details on whether the Piedmont Medical Center vaccination clinic, located in the city’s Galleria Mall, will get more vaccine supply in Phase 1b, Rock Hill city spokeswoman Katie Quinn recently told The Herald.

The clinic releases appointments each week based on supply, so Quinn encouraged people who are newly eligible in Phase 1b to check the clinic’s site regularly for available appointments.

“With the space available at the clinic and the willingness of volunteers to serve, we have capacity to increase the number of patients we’re serving,” Quinn said. “That number, of course, depends on the supply of vaccine we receive.”

MUSC’s Lancaster and Chester locations have so far vaccinated over 18,000 people, making up nearly 14% of Lancaster and Chester counties’ combined populations, spokeswoman Ashley Shannon recently told The Herald. The hospital system has not yet received details on whether it will get more vaccine supply in Phase 1b, but will work to get eligible patients shots.

“We will plan accordingly and work in our best capacity to meet the needs of the communities we serve,” Shannon said.

Officials are not requiring patients to prove eligibility for preexisting conditions.

“We’re also urging people to get vaccinated when it’s their time for their phase,” Davidson said. “Vaccine certainly is becoming more available, but to require proof, for instance of high-risk medical conditions ... would really mean that everybody would essentially have to make a doctor’s appointment prior to coming for a vaccine. That is not only not right, it’s not practical.”

Where will the Johnson & Johnson vaccine go in SC?

This week, South Carolina will receive roughly 41,000 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, officials announced last week. The first round of the single-dose vaccine, also known as the Janssen vaccine, is likely to go to new providers, Linda Bell, the state’s top epidemiologist, said Wednesday.

“We have identified a large number of independent pharmacies who will be receiving those initial doses of the Janssen vaccine,” she said. “We have a continued plan to roll out that particular product to help individuals who may be lost to follow up, who may not be able to get that second dose.”

Bell said in the coming weeks, DHEC will work to identify providers in more rural parts of the state, along with providers that serve individuals with unstable housing or experiencing homelessness.

The state is expecting to receive 62,010 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 48,800 doses of Moderna, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Current vaccine providers for 1a

DHEC has set up an online tool for anyone eligible to receive the vaccine to find a nearby provider at scdhec.gov/vaxlocator.

DHEC’s vaccine information line — 866-365-8110 — details how to schedule an appointment with nearby providers.

Rock Hill Piedmont Medical Center Community Vaccination Clinic

• Galleria Mall, 2295 Dave Lyle Blvd., Rock Hill

How to schedule: The clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Eligible patients should complete a vaccine request form. Patients will receive an email from the CDC with a link to register for an account in the federal Vaccine Administration Management System. Then patients can schedule an appointment.

The city also has a how-to guide. Or patients can call the clinic at 803-980-2684.

St. John’s United Methodist Church in Rock Hill is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday to help people register.

MUSC-Health

• Lancaster site, 800 West Meeting St., Lancaster
• Chester site, 1 Medical Park Drive, Chester

This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 9:54 AM.

Cailyn Derickson

The Herald

Cailyn Derickson is a city government and politics reporter for The Herald, covering York, Chester and Lancaster counties. Cailyn graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has previously worked at The Pilot and The News and Observer.