Half of all South Carolinians eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are now fully inoculated, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Thursday.
The benchmark puts the state closer to a 70 to 80% vaccination goal, health officials said in a statement.
With more than 2.1 million residents completely vaccinated, South Carolina still falls behind most of the nation in vaccine uptake. Across the country, about 63% of the eligible population — people 12 years or older — have completed their vaccination. “The mission is not over because the pandemic is not over,” said DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer in a statement. “We need more South Carolinians to step up and get vaccinated so we can stamp COVID out once and for all.” The vaccine milestone comes as the recent spike in cases driven by the delta variant has begun to decline.