COLUMBIA, S.C. — The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) clarified who is included in South Carolina’s first phase of vaccinations.
Phase 1a has included healthcare workers and those at long-term care facilities.
According to DHEC, healthcare workers include more than a two dozen occupations in addition to traditional frontline hospital staff.
Healthcare workers include:
- Anesthesiology assistants, registered cardiovascular invasive specialists, and operating room staff
- Athletic Trainers
- American Sign Language (ASL) and other interpreters in healthcare facilities
- Autopsy room staff, coroners, embalmers, and funeral home staff at risk of exposure to bodily fluids
- Dentists and dental hygienists and technicians
- Dietary and food services staff in healthcare facilities
- Environmental services staff in healthcare facilities
- Home health and hospice workers
- Hospital transport personnel
- Laboratory personnel and phlebotomists
- Licensed dietitians
- Medical assistants
- Medical first responders (paid and volunteer): EMS; fire department and law enforcement personnel who provide emergency medical care
- Nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse’s aides/ assistants
- Opticians and optometrists and assistants/ technicians
- Persons providing medical care in correctional facilities and correctional officers
- Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
- Physical and occupational therapists and assistants
- Physicians, including medical house staff (i.e., interns, residents, fellows), and physician assistants
- Podiatrists
- Public health healthcare workers who are frequently interacting with persons with potential COVID-19 infection
- Radiology technicians
- Respiratory care practitioners, such as respiratory therapists
- Speech language pathologists and assistants and audiologists
- Students and interns of the above categories.
DHEC says employers and individuals in the first vaccination phase are encouraged to reach out to their local hospitals as soon as possible to schedule an appointment.
For more information visit DHEC online.
