S.C. schools not seeing a big jump in COVID as kids return

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The second week of school is underway for many South Carolina students, and this school year looks different from the past few years of COVID-19 precautions.

The public health director at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control says the state is not seeing any significant increases in cases in schools at this time, but she says it is early.

“We’re getting some reports of outbreak situations in child cares or schools, but thankfully not too many, and what I’m keeping a casual eye on watching those reports go by, I’m happy to see that while they may have 20 percent, I’m not seeing you know, everyone having 75 percent of the class positive or what not,” Dr. Brannon Traxler said.

Traxler said part of DHEC’s approach and guidance going into this school year was to treat the virus as the endemic it’s become, similar to how they treat the flu.

The latest DHEC data shows that just 22.4 percent of kids ages 5 to 11 in South Carolina have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Traxler said that number is low.

“I would love to see that vaccination rate get as high as we can get it,” Traxler said. “One hundred percent might be a little unrealistic but that’s still the target I would say.”

Now is a good time for parents to talk to their child’s provider about vaccination before we enter the fall and winter. Traxler said if you are on the fence, ask a healthcare provider about what they’ve seen in kids who have been vaccinated.

Traxler said she wants parents to do what they can to help limit the spread and encourage their children to get back to what the new normal looks like, which is much closer to the old normal.

She said the best way to do that, and to keep kids from not missing school for COVID-19, is to get them vaccinated. If they find themselves in an outbreak situation, have children wear a mask temporarily.

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