Are York, Lancaster, Chester close to herd immunity? What to know about COVID vaccines.
York, Lancaster and Chester counties continue to reach coronavirus vaccination milestones, pushing the area steps closer to normalcy.
This week, South Carolina moved into its final vaccine distribution phase, known as Phase 2, which deems all South Carolinians age 16 and older eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Although the state has administered 2 million doses as of Thursday, many more residents will need to get shots before South Carolina is out of the woods, officials said.
About 26% of York County’s adult population — or 54,847 residents — have gotten at least one dose, according to South Carolina’s dashboard. So far, there’s been 72,982 first and second doses administered in York County. The county has about 212,000 residents 15 and older.
The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control has recommended that coronavirus safety practices, like wearing masks and physical distancing, can begin to be relaxed when 70-80% of the state’s population has vaccinated.
“The goal is and always has been to get as much vaccine in as many arms as we possibly can,” Dr. Michael Kacka, a DHEC physician and chief medical officer for COVID-19, said during a call last week. “We hope for herd immunity, but every vaccine that we can get out there will cut off another chain of transmission for this virus and cut down on cases.”
To date, South Carolina vaccine providers have given more than 2 million first and second doses, and more than 1,289,600 state residents have received at least one — making up about 31% of the state’s population.
DHEC estimates there are about 4,106,800 South Carolina residents above 15. Based on the agency’s current threshold, 2,874,760 residents would need to be fully vaccinated to reach a 70% vaccination rate. About 3,285,400 residents would need to be fully vaccinated to reach 80%.
So far, about 702,400 state residents have received both doses. That’s about 17% of the South Carolina’s population.
Chester County has the same percentage as York. About 26% of the county’s adult population — or 6,763 residents — have gotten at least one dose. The county has about 26,300 residents 15 and older. So far, there’s been 6,042 first and second doses administered in Chester County.
Lancaster County has the highest percentage. About 29% of Lancaster County’s adult population — or 22,178 residents — have gotten at least one dose. So far, there’s been 38,678 first and second doses administered in York County. The county has about 75,300 residents 15 and older.
According to DHEC’s definition, herd immunity occurs when “enough people are protected from a disease because they’ve been vaccinated or had the disease.” The percentage of people who need to be immune to reach herd immunity varies with each disease, according to the World Health Organization.
Experts are uncertain how long immunity will last for those who’ve had the virus, so state health officials insist that vaccinating against COVID-19 is how the state will move toward normalcy.
“Even if we knew what the exact level of herd immunity was, we wouldn’t hit the brakes as soon as we hit that,” Kacka said. “We would continue to try and get everyone protected that we possibly could.”
York County
COVID-19 vaccination rate for York County residents as of Tuesday (the most recent data available): 2,584 vaccine recipients per 10,000 residents, which falls in the bottom 30 South Carolina counties.
Number of residents who’ve received at least one dose: 54,847
Number of total doses administered: 72,982
Percentage of county’s adult population that has received at least one dose: 25.8%
Biggest provider: The Rock Hill Piedmont Medical Center vaccination clinic has administered 29,088 first and second doses as of Thursday. About 40% of all doses administered in York County have been at the city’s clinic.
Lancaster County
COVID-19 vaccination rate for Lancaster County residents as of Tuesday: 2,944 vaccine recipients per 10,000 residents, which falls in the bottom 20.
Number of residents who have received at least one dose: 22,178
Number of total doses administered: 38,678
Percentage of the county’s adult population that has received at least one dose: 29.4%
- Biggest provider: MUSC’s Lancaster Medical Center has administered 17,154 first and second doses as of Thursday. About 44% of all doses administered in Lancaster County have through the hospital.
Chester County
COVID-19 vaccination rate for Chester County residents as of Tuesday: 2,573 vaccine recipients per 10,000 residents, which falls in the bottom 30.
Number of residents who have received at least one dose: 6,763
Number of total doses administered: 6,042
Percentage of the county’s adult population that has received at least one dose: 25.7%
- Biggest provider: MUSC’s Chester Medical Center has administered 3,630 first and second doses as of Thursday, making up about 60% of the county’s administrations.
Vaccinations by ZIP code
Rock Hill’s ZIP code of 29732, which includes Piedmont Medical Center, continues to lead York County with 14,706 vaccine recipients. Rock Hill’s 29730 ZIP code has recorded 10,548 recipients, which is the second-highest amount in the county.
Lancaster’s 29720 ZIP code has 10,870 vaccine recipients Indian Land’s 29707 ZIP code has 8,555 recipients, which is the second-highest in the county, according to DHEC.
Chester’s 29706 ZIP code has reported 4,006 vaccine recipients.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 4:24 PM.
