| 'Time is of the essence.’ SC House to consider COVID-19 vaccine funding bill BY JOSEPH BUSTOS JANUARY 26, 2021 05:00 AM
COLUMBIA, S.C. House members will soon debate and vote on spending more than $200 million to expand the state’s ability to give people a COVID-19 vaccine, such as through large-scale vaccination sites.
The House Ways & Means Committee on Monday approved spending up to $208 million to help the state health department and hospitals with staffing, personal protective equipment, contact tracing, marketing campaigns, transportation and storage, costs associated with running large-scale community vaccination sites, and technology, among other things.
“We must ensure citizens are receiving the vaccine as quickly, efficiently and effectively as possible, ultimately saving lives — all things that have not been happening,” Speaker Jay Lucas said in a statement. “I plan to have the full House of Representatives address this measure as quickly as possible. I hope for swift consideration by the Senate. Time is of the essence.”
Under the proposal, $63 million would go to the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and $45 million would to the Medical University of South Carolina.
An additional $100 million would go into a vaccine reserve account. Hospitals around the state would have access to $75 million of that money and other vaccine providers would have access to $25 million.
At DHEC, money would be used to pay for staff to give the vaccine, including 46 vaccination teams to provide clinics seven days a week, the agency said.
“These funds would cover the cost of DHEC staff to help vaccinate people in our health departments or even offsite at locations other than our health departments, other community clinics,” DHEC interim Public Health Director Brannon Traxler said. “And that’ll help ensure that there are clinics being held in the rural and underserved communities across the state.”
Rollout of the vaccine has been slow and lawmakers and the governor have urged state health officials to pick up the pace.
“We can’t wait and we can’t sit around and complain that we’re not getting the appropriate amount of vaccine from them and we can’t produce vaccine,” said Ways & Means Chairman Murrell Smith. “So we just have to get ready for when it comes to distribute to the citizens of this state.”
Smith added rural and underserved areas should be a priority in vaccine distribution and the bill sets up the framework for vaccine administration in those areas of the state.
“What’s troubling me and is troubling my constituents, is that the rural areas and underserved areas are just simply not being reached in an efficient way,” state Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken. “You’ve stated that it would be, and I certainly hope that’s where the emphasis will be.”
State Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Beaufort, said the vaccines will be available at no charge for residents.
“No one will be turned away, with or without insurance,” Herbkersman said.
If federal money comes to the state for vaccine administration, it would be spent before state dollars, under the proposed legislation.
The proposed legislation also codifies a recent executive order expanding who can administer a vaccine including allowing medical students and retired nurses to give doses. The bill also would allow dentists and optometrists to give shots, but only at COVID-19 vaccination sites.
If the House approves the vaccine bill, it would move onto the Senate for its consideration.
“I’ll be supportive of anything we can do to get the vaccination into people’s arms,” said state Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.
However, he said he and his staff need to review the details of the proposal.
“We need to move as fast as we possibly can,” Leatherman said. “I just want to make sure I understand what the money will be used for and what kind of accountability will it have on it.”
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