Prisma Health has delivered 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as of Feb. 1, the health system announced.
There are currently two high-volume community vaccination sites operated by Prisma — one in Greenville and another in Columbia. Greenville’s site is located at 1 Kmart Plaza near Greenville Memorial Hospital in the building of a former Kmart. The system also runs 11 hospital sites in the state.
“Last week, South Carolina was recognized as one of the top 10 states in the country for using its available supply of vaccine. This was accomplished by working in close collaboration with our elected officials, health agencies and many other community partners,” said Mark O’Halla, president and CEO of Prisma Health, in a statement.
Prisma officials said that after the push to vaccinate many who fall under the first phase of the vaccine rollout — Phase 1a — the supply of vaccine on hand is low. Several sites have been closed for a day due to the lack of vaccine. Those who had appointments for those days have been rescheduled, according to officials.
South Carolina will begin receiving the second vaccine on the market. The Moderna vaccine operates similarly to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and also requires two doses spread a few weeks apart. The state is expected to receive 10,000 additional doses of the Moderna vaccine beginning next week, according to Prisma officials citing the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“We want to reassure the community of our commitment to administer as many shots in the arms of those who are currently eligible. While this is a national vaccine supply problem, not just a problem for Prisma Health or South Carolina, we are optimistic that vaccine supplies will increase in the coming months,” said Dr. Rick Scott, Prisma’s chief clinical officer in the Midlands and co-chair of the Prisma Health Vaccine Task Force.
The health system also began using MyChart to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments instead of the Centers for Disease Control’s Vaccine Administration Management System (CDC VAMS) platform. Sign up for a MyChart account at mychart.prismahealth.org and click Sign Up Online or call Prisma Health at 1-833-2PRISMA to receive scheduling assistance.
To reach rural areas, Prisma will begin using mobile units to distribute the vaccine in several days.
“We are committed to an equitable and fair distribution of our vaccines, including through our mobile van program, one-on-one telephone assistance for those without computer access and by offering limited walk-in appointments for as long as daily supplies allow at several of our vaccination sites,” said Dr. Saria Saccocio, Prisma Health chief medical officer for ambulatory services and co-chair of the vaccine task force.
Find out more information about the vaccine at scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccine.
