Covid update: Uninsured individuals to receive free vaccines

The Biden Administration is partnering with pharmacy chains to cover the costs of administering vaccines in order to keep shots free for uninsured Americans, according to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, state reports show the community level of the Covid-19 virus has remained low in the Charleston area, and 13 people died statewide from Covid in the week ending April 15.

Officials said the Biden Administration plans to spend more than $1 billion on the Covid vaccine program for the uninsured, The Times reported, which will be modeled after existing childhood vaccination programs. Moderna and Pfizer have agreed to join the program.

The new vaccine program sells commercial vaccines, allowing manufacturers to set their own prices. Federal officials will no longer purchase mass quantities of vaccines as in previous Covid vaccination campaigns.

In June, shots will be reformulated to target current Covid strains and moved to the commercial market around September.

Latest COVID-19 data

State health officials encourage residents to refer to the CDC’s community levels map to track the severity of Covid-19. As of April 18, Charleston County’s community level has remained low in line with the previous reporting period.

For the week ending April 15, Covid-related hospitalizations in Charleston decreased 33.3% in comparison to the week ending April 8. For the week ending April 15, state officials reported 13 people died from Covid-19 — 4 fewer deaths than the previous week. In this period, 1,326 new cases were reported — 239 fewer than the previous reporting period.

SCDHEC transitioned to weekly reporting of new Covid data in December 2022. The most recent numbers were reported Tuesday and covered April 9-15. In other data: