This past Tuesday, Governor Henry McMaster announced that phase 1B of South Carolina’s rollout plan will begin to take action. Starting on March 8th, roughly 2.7 million people throughout the entirety of the state will be able to get the vaccine. Originally, this phase was only supposed to contain teachers and front-line workers. This has since been changed in order to contain everyone aged 55 and older as well as anyone ages 16 or older who are considered to be particularly vulnerable or at risk. In order to get the vaccine, one will have to prove their eligibility. To prove eligibility, one will need to show DHEC identification that proves their age and their place of work or some other form of proof of a medical condition. In a recent interview, Mcmaster stated that more people are able to qualify to get their vaccine now because of how “in the month of February, South Carolina made tremendous progress on expanding access to vaccinations as the supply of vaccines increased. Because of these successes, we’re now in a position to make the majority of South Carolinians eligible to receive the vaccine.” Thus, for the second phase of vaccine distribution this is exactly who is eligible:

• Any person who is over the age of 55
• Any person who is at an increased risk for severe symptoms of Covid-19
• Any person aged 16 and up who has either cancer, any stage of chronic kidney disease, any stage of chronic lung disease, either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, down syndrome, heart disease, AIDS, an organ transplant, obesity, pregnancy, or a sickle cell disease.
• Frontline workers are either forced to be in person or perform a job that puts them at a greater risk of exposure.

DHEC defines a frontline worker as either teachers, daycare workers, school staff, those who work in manufacturing, grocery store workers, or law enforcement officers. Other people who may qualify for the vaccine are those who work in prisons and those who could have qualified to get the vaccine in the 1A grouping.

Currently, vaccine supplies indicate that phase 1c of the vaccine rollout will begin to be implemented on the 12th of April. This phase includes:

• People over the age of 45
• Other essential workers

Finally, current rates suggest that phase 2 of the vaccination plan will be implemented around the 3rd of May and will vaccinate all South Carolinians above the age of 16.