MUSC Health weekly COVID-19 report (December 6)

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Dec. 6, 2021) – At MUSC Health, the safety of patients, families, care team members, students, faculty and staff remains the number one priority. The MUSC Public Affairs and Media Relations department will issue regular COVID-19 updates on Monday of each week. If a federal or state holiday falls on a Monday, then a report will be issued the following day. Please read the report in its entirety; information can change quickly.

The Path Forward / Recovery

COVID-19 VACCINATION UPDATE

Q&A 16

Travel restrictions, kids’ shots and other things you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine.

MUSC Health has vaccine appointments for all eligible individuals age 5 and up. Eligible individuals can visit muschealth.org/get-vaccine to make an appointment. View information and a video with directions on how to schedule a vaccination appointment. The community is encouraged to monitor muschealth.org for COVID-19 vaccine availability criteria, updates and FAQs.

For more information related to public, community vaccination sites operated by MUSC Health throughout the state, please visit https://vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/. Homebound individuals who need in-home COVID-19 vaccination services should contact DHEC’s COVID-19 vaccine information line by calling 1-866-365-8110. All calls must be routed through the DHEC COVID-19 vaccine information line to access this program.

MUSC Health vaccination administration data is available upon request.

FOR UPDATED DATA:

Omicron Variant

“There's no question that it's scary because of the genetics and the shape of the virus,” scientist says of Omicron. But don't panic, he advises.

The MUSC COVID-19 Epidemiology Intelligence Project is a digital dashboard that provides leading indicators related to the COVID-19 epidemic to enable informed decisions. Current situation assessments for MUSC Health – Charleston (Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties), MUSC Health Florence, and MUSC Health Lancaster divisions are available on this site.

HELPFUL WEB LINKS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC:

General information

Information about testing options

MUSC Virtual Urgent Care

COVID-19 vaccination

MUSC COVID-19 mobile diagnostic testing

MUSC Health offers COVID-19 testing in hospital, clinic and other locations. Patients are encouraged to communicate with their providers through MUSC MyChart should they need testing services. Current turnaround time is approximately 24 hours for test results. A full list of testing information is available at musc.co/testing.

Information related to Healthy Me — Healthy SC free, statewide mobile testing sites for each week can be found here.

COVID-19 related stories for follow-up

COVID-19 vaccine and kids

MUSC pediatricians contribute to nationwide study that finds Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine effective against hospitalization in children age 12-18.

COVID-19 and Chronic Disease

MUSC researcher will explore how chronic disease affected COVID-19 outcomes and how COVID-19 affected chronic disease management in underserved communities.

Testing for Omicron

The molecular pathology lab at the Medical University of South Carolina is sequencing local COVID cases to see if any involve the new Omicron variant.

Basic stats / COVID-19 positive cases

Previously reported data points, such as the total number of pediatric inpatients, COVID-19 community screening tests completed by MUSC Health- Charleston and the number of positive cases determined via those tests, the number of telehealth screenings, total number of specimens collected at various mobile sites, the number of COVID-19 positive MUSC care team members, or vaccinated vs. unvaccinated inpatient information are available upon request. Information related to vaccinations is at the top of this release.

Total number of COVID patients (MUSC Health – Charleston): 29
- MUSC Health monitors these number to determine that we have current and future capacity in terms of health care providers, supplies, ventilators and PPE. Reported numbers are consistent with the modeling and expectation that MUSC Health will have appropriate resources to manage these patients.
- Of the 29 COVID-related inpatients currently in the MUSC Health-Charleston location, 7 are in MUSC Health COVID-19 intensive care, with 3 of the 29 total inpatients currently receiving ventilator care for disease progression.

For specific information about MUSC Health Florence or Marion Medical Centers, please contact Kim Geiger at geigerki@musc.edu.

For information about MUSC Health Chester or Lancaster Medical Centers, please contact Ashley Shannon at shannona@musc.edu.

For information about MUSC Health Columbia Medical Centers Downtown or Northeast and MUSC Health Fairfield Emergency and Imaging, please contact Karlin Ferguson at fergukar@musc.edu.

For information about MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center, please contact Karlin Ferguson at fergukar@musc.edu.

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About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is home to the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center, with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than $328 million in biomedical research funds in fiscal year 2021, continuing to lead the state in obtaining this funding. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality and safe patient care while training generations of compassionate, competent health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Close to 25,000 care team members provide care for patients at 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and 5 additional hospital locations in development, more than 300 telehealth sites and nearly 750 care locations situated in the Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee and Upstate regions of South Carolina. In 2021, for the seventh consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $4.4 billion. The more than 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.