Work in hospitality in SC? You may already qualify for the COVID vaccine. What to know
On March 8, the COVID-19 vaccine was made available to the majority of the state’s population under phase 1b: frontline workers with “increased occupational risk”; people living and working in close contact, including farm workers; people 55 and older; those with pre-existing health conditions; and pregnant women.
According to South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control, examples of frontline workers include teachers, law enforcement officers and grocery store employees.
But the category of “frontline workers with increased occupational risk” is much broader than some may think. According to DHEC, these are people who must work in-person and are at an increased risk of getting COVID-19 due to frequent, close and ongoing contact with others.
If that defines your work, then you’re eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine right now, DHEC officials say. The vaccine will become available to everybody 16 and older March 31, more than a month ahead of schedule.
“We’re asking people to be honest about what phase they’re in,” said Nick Davidson, DHEC’s senior deputy for public health, in early March. Workers don’t need to bring documentation of their employment to appointments to get the vaccine.
Under these requirements, many of the state’s nearly 238,000 hospitality workers are eligible for the vaccine. Throughout the pandemic, waiters, janitorial workers, concierges, line cooks, tour guides and others have kept South Carolina’s expansive hospitality sector running in the face of potential financial devastation. Each day they go to work, they face the risk of contracting COVID-19.
So with frontline hospitality workers eligible, several of the industry’s associations around the state have started hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
In Port Royal, the Beaufort Area Hospitality Association collaborated with Beaufort Memorial Hospital on Tuesday to vaccinate 140 local hospitality workers.
That event came together in less than 24 hours, BAHA executive director Ashlee Houck said.
“We have been working with BMH to make hospitality and tourism employees a priority because of how active they are in our community,” Houck said. “We were working on a list of employees and businesses that were interested in getting the vaccination, and I got a call on Monday that they were able to have a mass vaccination event on Tuesday.”
Nick Borreggine, who owns Fat Patties in Bluffton and Port Royal, got a Pfizer shot Tuesday, along with more than 30 of his restaurants’ employees. Borreggine said he and many of his employees were initially hesitant to get the vaccine because they worried they would be skipping the line, but decided to do it after hearing from BMH CEO and president Russell Baxley.
“Russell explained, obviously we are in a race to beat this thing before the variants take over and eventually morph into one that isn’t covered by the vaccines,” he said. “And obviously we don’t want any of the vaccines to go to waste.”
South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association hosted vaccination clinics in Columbia on Tuesday and Friday. In an email to a reporter Thursday, RLA spokesperson Lenza Jolley said 400 people were vaccinated Tuesday, and the association expected to vaccinate about the same number Friday.
Jolley said RLA continues to seek opportunities to offer vaccine clinics across the state, though no others have been scheduled.
But, you need not wait until the next vaccine clinic to get your shot. Here’s a guide for signing up to receive the COVID vaccine:
SIGN UP FOR THE COVID VACCINE
To find vaccine appointments across the state, visit DHEC’s online Vaccine Locator tool at https://vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/. The service provides links to individual providers in your area that are accepting appointments, but you must contact them directly to sign up.
Some providers may require you to bring identification, but they’ll likely let you know. You do not have to bring any medical records to prove an underlying health condition or documentation to prove employment, DHEC officials have said.
To sign up for a vaccine at a DHEC-run clinic, visit the state registration portal at https://cvas.dhec.sc.gov/health/covidvaccinescheduling. Vaccines are offered every day at county health departments across the state, as well as on an ad-hoc basis through pop-up clinics.
Residents can also call the state’s vaccine hotline at 1-866-365-8110 if they need help with sign-up or don’t have internet access.
REGISTRATION SYSTEMS
Some hospitals have been using the federal government’s Vaccine Administration Management System to register recipients. Recipients submit information to hospitals that then upload it into VAMS. Within 24 to 48 hours usually, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will then send an email with a link to access VAMS and schedule an appointment. The VAMS website is https://vams.cdc.gov/.
Most pharmacies and grocery stores, including CVS and Kroger, are using their own in-house registration portals.
For more information, visit https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccine/covid-19-vaccine-faqs.
