This Rock Hill family-owned pharmacy just got an award for giving 16,000 COVID shots
South Carolina’s health department recognized family-owned Good Pharmacy in Rock Hill as a “community hero” after it has administered more than 16,000 COVID-19 shots.
The pharmacy, which has been serving the Rock Hill area since 1963, started administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in January and has administered about 7% of the total 217,028 doses administered in York County, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“Some of our long-term customers actually volunteered to come in and help us with some of the paperwork,” Good Pharmacy part-owner Alton Hyatt said. “My sister and I could not have done this without the staff and the volunteers. We are committed to getting everyone vaccinated.”
The agency’s community heroes initiative acknowledges individuals and providers across the state working to expand access to COVID-19 education, testing and vaccines, according to DHEC’s website.
Good Pharmacy is the second Rock Hill-area vaccine provider praised by DHEC for its vaccination effort.
In May, the city’s vaccination clinic, which administered, at the time, more than 50,000 Pfizer-BioNTech shots, was honored with the same award and a governor’s proclamation from Gov. Henry McMaster.
“Every member of the staff has made a personal commitment to help their neighbors,” DHEC 5th District Board Member Rick Lee said of the family-owned pharmacy. “I think it would be worthwhile for other small pharmacies to actually come and see how the process runs because when you’re moving large numbers of people through for vaccinations, you’ve got to be very systematic and organized. These folks here have the paperwork and record-keeping and the shot administration down to a science.”
Mounting COVID cases
As of Thursday, 50% of all South Carolinians eligible for a COVID vaccine have been fully vaccinated, DHEC announced. State health officials have continually urged more residents to get vaccinated after warning that South Carolina’s low vaccination rate leaves it vulnerable to the highly-transmissible delta variant, which since has surged throughout the state.
The New York Times recently reported that South Carolina has the fifth highest COVID case rate of all the states, down from its second-highest ranking last week. The state, in the last week, has had 93 new infections per 100,000 people, averaging about 4,777 a day, according to the recent report.
In York County, 46% of all vaccine-eligible residents have been fully vaccinated as of Thursday, while 55% have had at least one dose, according to DHEC. The county has about 223,800 residents eligible for a COVID shot.
Despite its steadily growing vaccination rate, York County falls within the top 25 worst outbreaks in South Carolina’s 46 counties, according to The Times’ report.
The county has had 86 new infections per 100,000 people in the last week, making it the 24th worst in the state, according to The Times’ report. Last week, York County was ranked 19th.
South Carolinians can sign up for an vaccine appointment at Good Pharmacy, located at 1237 Ebenezer Rd., by calling the pharmacy at 803-327-2081.
This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
