Prisma Health plans for 10k shots a day

Prisma Health is setting up dedicated high-volume community vaccine centers in Greenville and Columbia starting as soon as next week and will further expand vaccine access as more vaccine supply becomes available to South Carolina. With the additional sites in place, Prisma Health expects to administer as many as 10,000 shots per day within the next few weeks.

 

“We are mobilizing multiple resources across our system in order to help provide vaccines – as well as continue providing leading-edge care to patients with COVID-19 – as part of this unprecedented event, the largest vaccination process in the history of our country,” said Dr. Saria Saccocio, the chief ambulatory medical officer for Prisma Health and the co-chair of its COVID-19 vaccine task force. “We are very encouraged that so many people want to receive their vaccines.”

 

On Wednesday, Prisma Health began vaccinating individuals over 70 years of age who had already completed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS).

 

As of Jan. 14, Prisma Health had received 44,850 doses of the vaccine from state health officials and has administered nearly 26,000 doses, with the initial doses going to healthcare workers and first responders per state guidance.

 

Prisma Health’s plans also include using specially-outfitted mobile health clinics to help provide vaccines to the state’s rural communities. Some of the new vans could be ready by the end of February, but distribution will depend on vaccine supply and guidance from state officials. Prisma Health also mobilized additional resources to expand its scheduling and speed up the process for this vulnerable population, some of whom do not have access to computers.

 

“Please know that Prisma Health and other healthcare providers across South Carolina are working very hard on implementation details in a rapidly evolving environment,” said Saccocio. “We continue to ask for the community’s patience. Please be assured that we are moving as quickly as we can with our current vaccine supply.”

Eligible individuals should fill out an online form at www.PrismaHealth.org/Vaccine. When the vaccine supply is available, these individuals will be notified to schedule their appointment directly through the CDC’s Vaccine Administration Management System. This CDC system requires an individual to have a unique email account because the CDC will send an email link for the registration.

No walk-ins will be allowed since a CDC VAMS registration is required in order to track the vaccination and provide the follow up for the second dose.

Individuals in this 70+ age group who do not have access to a computer or who do not have an individual email account can call 833-2PRISMA (833-277-4762) for assistance. (The public can set up a free email account through Google Gmail or Yahoo.) Prisma Health will also have staff available to help guide them through the process when they arrive for their appointment.

 

Prisma Health will respond to all appointment requests as quickly as possible. Community members are asked not to submit multiple vaccine request forms or leave multiple messages on the phone line since that will delay the process. Individual Prisma Health physician practices, pharmacies and hospitals cannot schedule people for a vaccine, so please do not call these locations.

 

S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control provides information on all locations accepting vaccine appointments. There are a few non-Prisma Health pharmacies that can accept 70+ individuals now. To find those and other locations, call the DHEC Care Line at 1-855-472-3432 or visit the DHEC website.

 

While waiting for their vaccination appointment, here’s what eligible community members can do to help:

 

Remember that even after people receive the first dose, they still need the second dose to achieve 95% efficacy.
This means they still have a risk of becoming infected, particularly due to the state’s high infection rate. Also remember that the vaccine will not be widely administered to 75% of the population until this summer.
Please continue to socially distance; wear a mask in public when around others; wash hands frequently; avoid group gatherings and stay home if you are sick.