COLUMBIA, S.C. — The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) reports 55% of South Carolinians are fully vaccinated. However, the work continues to make sure people in rural communities are included in those numbers.
“From the beginning, since vaccines rolled out earlier this year, we’ve been very mindful about trying to reach all sectors of South Carolina -- whether it’s demographically, rural, urban, different ethnicities -- and working with our partners to make sure we’re reaching everybody," said DHEC medical offer Dr. Jonathan Knoche.
The state health agency also launched its homebound vaccination program earlier this year in all 46 counties, which runs through December. Through this program, DHEC partnered with Welcome Pharmacy and H and M Labs to vaccinate people at home.
The program's goal is to help people get vaccinated despite not being able to go to a doctor's office or clinic for health and accessibility reasons.
“We’re constantly evaluating, ‘Do we need to do additional outreach in additional areas?’ We’ve had people request certain sites related to their own community. If it’s a place of worship or other sites have said ‘Hey can we work together, can we offer our site? We wanna make sure our community is getting what we need,'" said Knoche.
Currently, DHEC is offering mobile sites at USC Sumter and The Faith Center in Manning, as well as its local health departments statewide.
“We know over 300,000 South Carolinians have already gotten a third dose of the vaccine and now, with 5 to 11-year-olds eligible, I know there are a number of families that are anxious to get their children vaccinated. My six-year-old son has gotten his vaccine," said Dr. Knoche.
With the holiday season approaching, DHEC says it's more necessary than ever to make sure as many people are getting vaccinated as possible.
“If you get a vaccine, it’s good for you, but it’s good for your family, it’s good for your friends, the people you work with, the people you go to church with, the people you hang out and do hobbies with, so we really are encouraging people to still get vaccinated as we move into the holiday season and people are gonna be travelling.”
Check out DHEC's vaccine locator here to find a COVID-19 vaccination site near you. DHEC announced Thursday it has updated its page to include providers offering vaccines for ages 5-11. Select your area on the map and providers offering the vaccine for children ages 5-11 will list "Pfizer-Pediatrics" under the location name.