COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) on Friday evening released a detailed spreadsheet tracking COVID-19 vaccine distribution across the state.
According to DHEC, 16 healthcare facilities “have received 97,500 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine directly from the federal government since December 14. The DHEC Distribution Center has received 14,625 doses and distributed 5,555 to healthcare facilities without the ultra-cold storage required for storing Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.”
Facilities in the Lowcountry that received doses directly from the federal government include MUSC, which received 13,650 doses total, and Roper, which received 7,800 doses total.
Lowcountry facilities that received doses from DHEC include Colleton Medical Center, Easter Cooper Medical Center, Summerville Medical Center, and Trident Medical Center.
With the exception of Summerville Medical Center, each of the facilities that received doses from DHEC reported over 100% utilization. This is because “DHEC’s number of inventory is based on 5 doses per vial. It has been reported by some facilities that they are able to get more doses (6‐7 doses) per vial, which can cause a utilization > 100%.”
Colleton Medical Center received what was believed to be 225 doses but was able to vaccinate 270 people (120% utilization), East Cooper Medical Center received 600 doses but was able to vaccinate 642 people (107% utilization), and Trident Medical Center received 1,240 doses but was able to vaccinate 1,371 people.
Summerville Medical Center received 500 doses and vaccinated 139 people. News 2 asked a spokesperson for Trident Medical Center about the apparent discrepancy, and received the following statement:
“Summerville Medical Center is a part of Trident Health, which also includes Trident Medical Center, Moncks Corner Medical Center, Brighton Park Emergency and Centre Pointe Emergency. From 12/16 – 12/23 we, Trident Health, used all of the Pfizer vaccine we received as part of Phase 1 of our COVID vaccination schedule.“
