The DHEC board voted 6-2 to move forward with model A in hopes of getting the vaccine into as many arms as quickly as possible.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The board of The Department of Environmental Control took a vote to move forward on a population based distribution model for the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday. They are hopeful the model will get more shots into more arms, faster.
“As a state, the vaccine is moving. We have a problem though, that is supply of vaccine,” DHEC’s Acting Director Marshall Taylor said.
During the board meeting, Taylor noted the biggest challenge remains that the amount of vaccines coming to South Carolina does not meet the demand.
“We get a lot of request from all over. We realize that means of allocation is necessary and that’s why we are here today to talk about the method of allocation, not the specifics, but the method to use until supply is sufficient,” Taylor said.
DHEC’s Interim Director of Public Health Dr. Brannon Traxler shared two models with the board.
Model A focuses on distributing the vaccine based on population within counties.
Model B looks at population, social vulnerability and age.
The board voted 6-2 to move forward with model A in hopes of getting the vaccine into as many arms as quickly as possible.
“Before we even got the very first vaccine in the state, we knew that the number one priority had to be get this vaccine into rural communities across the state because we knew it would be easy in a metropolitan area where you have a big hospital, but those rural communities, the pipeline of those rural communities is the key,” Taylor said.
This process won’t begin for at least two weeks while health experts develop more details and plans to share with the board again at their next meeting.
The board’s next meeting is in two weeks.
