Columbia brings back COVID testing, vaccination sites amid new case spike | Columbia News

COLUMBIA — A spike in COVID-19 cases in Richland County, likely a result of a pick up in spring travel, has led the city of Columbia to work with state officials to reopen vaccination and testing sites.

Columbia has not hosted COVID testing and vaccine sites since February when cases from the Omicron variant died down.

Now, state health officials are seeing an uptick in cases this month from the BA.2 variant. 

This comes when cases have increased by around 35% since the beginning of the year in Richland County, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data. The county’s new case rate has doubled in the past two weeks to a level last hit in last February, according to data compiled by The New York Times. 

South Carolina has seen the nation’s biggest spike in cases over the past two weeks and the fourth-highest increase in hospitalizations, according to The New York Times. 

“Don’t be worried, instead do something actionable,” said Dr. Jane Kelly, DHEC’s assistant epidemiologist. “No. 1, get vaccinated. If you’re vaccinated, get boosted. No. 2, think about your family members. You know we’ve got safe and effective vaccine for everyone ages 5 and above.”

Now, DHEC, in partnership with Columbia, are hosting multiple sites at the same parks for the next few weeks where people can get vaccines, boosters and self-adminstered rapid antigen tests.

Columbia resumed the sites in the past week and has planned more in coming weeks. South Carolina ranks in the bottom 15 states in full-vaccination rates, according New York Times data. Richland County is slightly above the state average with 60 percent of residents fully vaccinated.

There are no indications that local governments will reinstate mask requirements or other safety measures like those imposed when the outbreak started two years ago. Nearly 1.5 million COVID cases have been reported in South Carolina since 2020 with nearly 18,000 dying from the virus.

“We have come into an era where we have fewer masked mandates,” Kelly said. “People are no longer wearing masks on public transportation. Kids is unmasked at schools. So there’s more risk of spreading from one individual to another.”

The Columbia sites will be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on these days:

• June 7 and June 9: Melrose Park, 1500 Fairview Road
• June 14 and June 16: Hampton Park, 1117 Brandon Ave. 
• June 21 and June 23: Drew Wellness Center, 2117 Walker Solomon Way 

Locations of other testing and vaccine sites can be found at scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations. 

Andy Shain contributed from Columbia.