SC health officials: Get vaccinated against COVID variants, flu. What to know about RSV.

With a recent rise in COVID-19 cases statewide, the state's top health official is urging residents to get the newly-approved COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the latest coronavirus strains circulating.

"We've already started to see an increase in COVID cases over the last two months or so," said State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. "The best way to prevent hospitalizations and death due to COVID right now is to get vaccinated against the variants that are currently spreading."

Bell held a virtual statewide media briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 13, to discuss the upcoming respiratory season. She talked about what South Carolinians can expect this fall and winter from COVID-19, which is now in the endemic stage; seasonal flu; and the emerging respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

COVID-19 'continues to circulate' in South Carolina

Dr. Bell said when the COVID-19 emergency declaration expired in May, DHEC stopped posting regular updates on cases, hospitalizations and deaths. DHEC continued to collect the information and share it with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Starting Sept. 20, Dr. Bell said DHEC will again be posting weekly updates with numbers of flu, RSV and COVID-19 cases on its Flu Watch webpage.

"COVID has continued to circulate in our communities since the beginning of the pandemic," Bell said. "It has never left us completely. We are still seeing cases with complications that are preventable."

According to the latest data from the CDC, South Carolina saw 373 COVID-19 hospital admissions the week ending Sept. 2, an 18% increase over the prior week. Since August 2020, there have been 94,579 hospitalizations statewide.

There have been 136 COVID-19-related deaths statewide for the three months ending Sept. 2, and a total of 21,259 deaths since 2020, according to the CDC's weekly COVID Data Tracker,

This year through Aug. 12, DHEC reported just over 25,000 cases and 353 deaths in the Upstate, including Oconee, Pickens, Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Union, Laurens, Anderson, Abbeville, Greenwood and McCormick.

Last year, there were a reported 229,590 cases and 1,662 deaths in DHEC's 11-county Upstate region.

Nationwide, the CDC reported a total of 6.3 million hospitalizations and 1.14 million deaths since the start of the pandemic.

New vaccines gain FDA approval

On Sept.. 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved this season's vaccinations from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. The CDC recommends that the updated vaccines be administered to everyone 6 months of age and older who are eligible.

The vaccine has been updated to match the currently circulating COVID-19 virus, the omicron variant named XBB.1.5.

"The updated vaccines are effective against the main variants that are currently circulating," Dr. Bell said. "Get that updated COVID vaccine as soon as it's available, which we know will be very soon. It's currently available in many places already."

Treatment, vaccine concerns raised by some lawmakers

While state and federal health officials advise residents to get vaccinated, some state lawmakers have expressed skepticism about treatment measures and vaccine safety.

At a meeting on Sept. 12 to discuss how to counter future pandemics, some lawmakers said they want more information on the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines and more evidence as to why ivermectin shouldn't be used to help fight COVID-19 infections.

DHEC spokesperson Casey White said ivermectin is not an approved treatment for COVID-19. White said a list of authorized treatments for COVID-19 can be found here.

As for vaccines, White said severe side effects, such as myocarditis, pericarditis or blood clots, are rare.

"Largely, vaccine recipients can expect to experience mold to moderate side effects, such as pain at the injection site, mild fatigue, mild fever or headache," White said. "These usually resolve within a few days.

"In collaboration with their healthcare provider, individuals should always weigh the benefits of vaccination or treatment for a disease against the risks posed to them by side effects or infection," White said.'

Current flu activity in South Carolina is low

Dr. Bell said the flu season typically starts in October, and that so far there has not been much flu activity — contrary to last year when there was widespread flu activity early in the season.

For the week ending Sept. 9, there were 132 cases of flu confirmed statewide, 15 hospitalizations and one flu-related death.

"Cases of flu do tend to peak later in the season around December of January," Dr. Bell said. "We are not seeing an uptick at this time."

She suggested getting the seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible.

"We recommend everyone 6 months of age and older get a flu vaccine annually," she said.

CDC issues RSV health advisory

On Sept. 6, the CDC issued a health advisory for increased Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) activity in parts of the Southeastern U.S.

Dr. Bell said infants, young children and older adults are particularly at risk of severe disease from RSV infection similar to a common cold. Symptoms include coughing, sneezing, headache and sore throat.

RSV can be contracted via respiratory droplets when a person coughs or sneezes, or through direct contact with a contaminated surface.

Dr. Bell said monoclonal antibody products are available to protect all infants under 8 months of age, and infants and children 8 to 19 months who are at risk of severe RSV. For adults ages 60 and older, there is a single dose of an RSV vaccine.

Advice for residents: Practice good hygiene, get vaccinated

Overall, Dr. Bell said residents can get vaccines for COVID-19, the flu and RSV in one visit. The main side effect is a sore arm, she said. Even if a person has been vaccinated and boosted previously for COVID-19, they should get the new vaccine, she said.

People should also practice good hygiene, including washing hands frequently, covering a cough or sneeze and staying home from school or work if sick.

She said people can also wear a mask "if you're most at risk of complications or if you live with someone who may have severe complications from any of these.

"We strongly encourage getting the available vaccines as early as possible, before we start to see higher circulation of these diseases," she said. "Higher vaccination coverage can help us reduce the severity of our respiratory season."

Bob Montgomery covers Spartanburg County politics and growth & development. Reach him via email at bob.montgomery@shj.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: SC DHEC urging COVID vaccinations against variants. Prep for flu, RSV.