Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in Palmetto State are declining, but the number of deaths is slowly increasing

South Carolina – The Covid-19 situation in the Palmetto State is slowly normalizing as both the number of new cases and the number of hospitalizations are decreasing, but what remains as a alarming fact is the thing that the number of deaths is increasing.

From the very beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the public was told to take into consideration different kinds of measures in order to slow down the spread of the virus, but none of those measures is as effective as the vaccination.

Health expert use every single occasion to try and make the vaccine hesitant receive the shot claiming that the vaccine is the best weapon against the deadly virus and the only way we can stop new variants of the virus.

“I think the way this can be the last wave is if we convince people to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Jonathan Knoche, a medical consultant with DHEC.

The number of new cases, positivity rate and the number of hospitalizations are all declining, according to the DHEC data from the last 30 days.

“It’s a very common finding to see the number of cases to go up and as the population gets more immune, whether it is from vaccination or natural infection, there are less people who are susceptible to that infection so those numbers start to go down,” Knoche explained.

He added that the vaccine lasts long enough to keep everyone safe from the virus, especially when it comes to severe condition and death. However, the data shows that regardless of the fact that all the other numbers are going down, the number of deaths for some reason is increasing. This is how the health experts explain the trend.

“It takes time for people to go to the hospital, for the disease to be serious enough for people to pass away. Then, that needs to be signed off by the physician who says the cause of death is COVID-19 and then it needs to be reported to DHEC,” Knoche said.

What data from all over the world shows is also happening in South Carolina. Most of the reported Covid-19 related deaths are in unvaccinated people or exactly, 78 percent of those who passed away from the coronavirus were not considered fully vaccinated.

Of the 22 percent of patients who died from COVID and were fully immunized, Knoche said the majority had weakened immune systems.

“It’s good for us to recognize that those who passed away who have been fully vaccinated, they are on average older,” Knoche said. “And when we asked about underlying conditions, over 96 percent of people who were fully vaccinated and died of COVID had some underlying, preexisting, comorbid condition that increases their chance of passing away.”

In the additional data provided by DHEC, most deaths are reported in the age group of people in their 70s, but the highest number of positive cases is coming from the people aged around 39.

“During the school year, we saw a much bigger jump in the pediatric population. But when it comes to death it’s still largely the older population. That’s why we are seeing this recommendation for people who live in long-term care facilities, who are older, to get this vaccine because they are still at risk of these antibodies waning so it’s recommended they get a booster right now,” Knoche suggested.

As of now, around 60% of the South Carolina population have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. In order to make the state better and safer place for every person, the percentage of fully vaccinated people should be more than 70%