Staff reports | Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Greenville Monday to kick off a national “Month of Action” tour to get more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19.
South Carolina falls short of the national average of 64 percent of adults who are vaccinated. According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, about 46 percent of South Carolinians over age 11 have been vaccinated with at least one shot. Some 39 percent have completed their vaccinations. A quarter of the state’s population also is thought to have natural immunity after having contracted the virus. Still, about 1.8 million South Carolinians have no protection from a vaccination or natural immunity, experts say.
In announcing the Month of Action, the White House said it is trying to get 70 percent of Americans vaccinated by July 4. The effort includes free child care for people getting vaccinated, longer hours at pharmacies, more education and outreach, and business incentives.
On Thursday, state health officials reported 119 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus Thursday and zero confirmed deaths. With 5,507 tests reported, 3 percent were positive. Since the beginning of the pandemic, South Carolina has had almost 500,000 people get COVID-19 cases and more than 8,600 confirmed deaths.
In other recent news:
Senators vote “no confidence” in state DJJ director. A group of state senators probing the state’s juvenile prison system voted Wednesday to say they have no confidence in Director Freddie Pough. Meanwhile, Gov. Henry McMaster, who appointed Pough, issued a statement Wednesday that said private security would immediately help with staffing shortages. More: AP News | The Post and Courier.
Santee Cooper survives as public company. South Carolina’s state-owned utility, Santee Cooper, has had an uncertain future since July 2017, when halted construction before the completion of a nuclear project left the company billions in debt. More: SC Public Radio | The Post and Courier.
Initial S.C. unemployment claims top 900k since March 2020. For the week ending June 5, 1,887 claims were filed in South Carolina, bringing the total filed since March 15, 2020 to 900,665. Spartanburg County saw a state-high 130 claims filed. More: Columbia Business Report.
Safety concerns remain over S.C.’s new open carry law. The 90 days between the day the bill was signed into law and its implementation allows more time for law enforcement and permit holders to learn what the law changes and what it does not. More: SC Public Radio.
SLED says 2020 saw higher rate of violent crime. The State Law Enforcement Division has released a report showing that violent crime increased in 2020, and local departments are saying it could be even higher for 2021. More: The Sumter Item.
Condemned men seek stay from federal judge. Attorneys for two death row inmates condemned to die on June 18 and June 25 have asked U.S. District Judge Bryan Harwell to block their executions while a lawsuit over the state’s new law forcing inmates to choose between electrocution or firing squad proceeds. A circuit court judge declined to stay the executions in a decision earlier this week. Harwell did not indicate on Wednesday how he would decide. More: AP News.
State high court nixes lifelong sex offender registry. The state’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a state law requiring sex offenders to register for life, without prior judicial review, is unconstitutional since it “violates due process.” The Justices set a 12-month timeline to implement the ruling. More: AP News.
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