FORT MILL, S.C. — South Carolina is now considered one of 12 states at the highest risk of having another COVID-19 outbreak, according to epidemiologists with the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The assistant state epidemiologist, Dr. Jane Kelly, said Wednesday that South Carolina is considered a higher risk state because of its relatively low vaccination numbers.
Fewer than 40% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated; approximately 45% percent has had at least one dose of a vaccine, according to data compiled by DHEC.
In recent weeks, the state has seen a slight uptick in the number of cases, and in the percent positivity rate, Kelly said.
“There is reason to be concerned,” Kelly said. “It’s not over yet.”
The most serious COVID-19 cases continue to appear in the population that is not vaccinated, Kelly said. According to data examined from the first two weeks of June, people who were not fully vaccinated made up 94% of the total new cases, 90% of the hospitalizations and 100% of the deaths.
Eleven people died from COVID-19 during the first two weeks of June, Kelly said. Every person who died was not fully vaccinated.
“I can’t think of a more impactful point to make that would encourage someone to get vaccinated,” she said.
Meanwhile, health officials on the state level continue monitoring for the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.
Thus far, the state has identified 10 cases of the Delta variant through lab testing. That number comprises approximately 5% of the total number of positive cases. Kelly believes the Delta prevalence is much higher than the testing has revealed.
On the national level, an average of 50% of new COVID-19 cases have been identified as the Delta variant.
Kelly said South Carolina’s lower than average vaccinate rate is creating a “strong foothold” for the variants in the state.
Kelly said the case counts and spread of the virus in unvaccinated populations now could have an impact on the DHEC recommendations for schools when they resume in August. The majority of children are not vaccinated, nor are they eligible for a vaccine at this time.
“We are coming up soon on making decisions around school policies,” Kelly said. “We at DHEC will be basing our recommendations on the CDC and working with individual school districts to make those decisions.”
Before the end of the 2019-20 school year, Governor Henry McMaster ordered public schools in South Carolina to give parents the option to have their children opt-out of wearing masks inside classrooms.
Contact Tanya Mendis at tmendis@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.