COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has passed 10,000 total COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began, state health officials have announced.
The state's health agency, DHEC, released a statement Wednesday on the state crossing the milestone, as it also announced 15 new deaths. As it stands now, there are 10,007 deaths.
"While statistics are useful to measure data, there is no statistic for grief or comfort in a milestone for those who have lost family members and loved ones," said SCDHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer. "To all those families across South Carolina, I want to say my deepest sympathy is with you. I know I also speak on behalf of the thousands of dedicated DHEC employees across our great state who are working non-stop to help prevent more lives from being lost."
The first death in the state was reported back on March 15, 2020. The number of deaths rose in the following months, but spiked in the summer of 2020, with the state seeing over 1,000 deaths in July and August of that year. After a dip in the fall, the number of deaths accelerated in the winter surge, with over 2,000 deaths reported in January alone.
Simmer said the only way to prevent more lives from being lost is to get everyone possible vaccinated.
"Hundreds of millions of Americans have been fully vaccinated, including nearly two million South Carolinians," Simmer said. "But our work is not done. That number only represents 45 percent of South Carolinians eligible for the vaccine, and it does not count all those aged 11-and-under who are not yet eligible for the vaccine but who depend on the rest of us to protect them."
He said while while things were improving, the rise of the Delta variant has created a new danger for the state.
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"Until we reach a critical percentage of South Carolinians vaccinated that can stifle COVID-19’s spread, we are not out of danger," Simmer said. "And the longer that takes, the more time the virus has to mutate into new, harder-to-control variants."
Vaccinations are available for ages 12 and up at many locations across the state. Visit DHEC’s information page for more information on the vaccines, and the locator page to schedule a vaccine appointment.