By Nick Reagan|February 8, 2021 at 3:20 PM EST - Updated February 8 at 6:47 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A new group of people can now sign up to get a vaccination. Last week, Gov. Henry McMaster opened the door for those over the age of 65 to get COVID-19 vaccines starting Monday.
Karen and Michael Brown both fall into that new category. They say they are pleased with the governor’s decision.
“We got up at like 5:30 this morning and got straight to the computer, went to the MUSC website and got signed up right away but the dates were like mid-April,” Karen Brown said. “I wish we could get in sooner because we take care of Mike’s mom who is 88 and we would like to be able to keep her safe.”
There was a mad dash this morning to find a vaccination location. The Department of Health and Environmental Control says their phones fielded 1,000 calls an hour.
Brown says after she got her appointments she started looking around for an earlier date.
“I went to CVS. I went to Publix. I went to Walgreens. I went to Doctors Care. They all say fully booked,” Brown said, indicating she’s not opposed to going to a pop-up vaccination location or switching appointments if she finds something sooner.
“We are very excited. We have been waiting and waiting for this and we just want to keep our family safe,” Brown said. “Our hope is that as many people as possible will get vaccinated and we can save as many lives as possible.”
You can find a vaccination location here or by calling 1-866-365-8110.
In its latest vaccine report, MUSC warned that it may need to change scheduled vaccine appointments because of “unpredictable vaccine shipment amounts.”
“While unavoidable given the supply chain dynamics at this time, MUSC Health is making every effort to prevent these disruptions and apologizes for the inconvenience and frustration that rescheduling appointments may cause for some patients,” the report states.
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