By Grace Beahm Alford gbeahm@postandcourier.com
With one COVID-19 vaccine now in emergency use in South Carolina and a couple more on the horizon, a path toward normalcy is just beginning to take shape for teachers and students across the state.
From the abrupt cancellation of in-person classes in mid-March to the ongoing challenges posed by online learning and the stateâs so-called digital divide, the global pandemic has taken a serious toll on public education over the past nine months.
But much is still unknown about what role schools will play in the vaccine distribution and what it will mean for children and educators moving forward, as school districts across the state remain largely in the dark.
|December 15, 2020 at 5:18 AM EST - Updated December 15 at 9:22 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A pediatric registered nurse at Medical University of South Carolina became the first in the Lowcountry to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday afternoon.
Shemika Champion, a pediatric registered nurse, was the first recipient and received her vaccination shortly after 12:45 p.m.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “MUSC is like the most cutting-edge, innovative hospital in South Carolina and happy to be a part of it.”
Champion told journalists who gathered to document the moment that she had no concerns about the vaccine, adding she has always been vaccinated.
|December 15, 2020 at 5:18 AM EST - Updated December 15 at 9:22 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A pediatric registered nurse at Medical University of South Carolina became the first in the Lowcountry to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday afternoon.
Shemika Champion, a pediatric registered nurse, was the first recipient and received her vaccination shortly after 12:45 p.m.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “MUSC is like the most cutting-edge, innovative hospital in South Carolina and happy to be a part of it.”
Champion told journalists who gathered to document the moment that she had no concerns about the vaccine, adding she has always been vaccinated.
|December 15, 2020 at 5:18 AM EST - Updated December 15 at 9:22 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A pediatric registered nurse at Medical University of South Carolina became the first in the Lowcountry to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday afternoon.
Shemika Champion, a pediatric registered nurse, was the first recipient and received her vaccination shortly after 12:45 p.m.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “MUSC is like the most cutting-edge, innovative hospital in South Carolina and happy to be a part of it.”
Champion told journalists who gathered to document the moment that she had no concerns about the vaccine, adding she has always been vaccinated.
|December 14, 2020 at 5:34 PM EST - Updated December 14 at 7:37 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Hospitals across the Lowcountry are making their plans to begin vaccinating their health care workers as the state’s doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the state.
Roper St. Francis Health and MUSC both announced will begin vaccines Tuesday.
MUSC has not said how many doses it is expecting or how many staff members they expect to inoculate. But the first doctors and nurses are expected to go to a vaccination mobile site once the vaccine has been received.
They also planned to stagger the vaccinations because of possible side effects that include sore arms and a small fever, something MUSC Epidemiologist Dr. Robert Ball said is a normal immune reaction. If side effects require doctors or nurses to take a day off, the hospital will not be left short-handed because of the staggering, he said.