Prisma Health in a virtual press conference Thursday announced that they have nearly reached the same surge of COVID patients as this time last year and are asking South Carolinians to vaccinate and mask up.
Prisma Health's Steve Shelton, MD announced that Prisma currently has 304 COVID patients in their healthcare system, with roughly 88 percent of those patients being unvaccinated and 8 percent being vaccinated.
He added that the majority of those vaccinated COVID patients are over 60 and frail with underlying health issues.
Exactly a month ago in mid-July, Prisma only had 12 COVID patients, and they are approaching the 321 COVID patient peak from July of last year.
Shelton said that this surge in patients is creating a strain on their system, the same as previous surges have caused.
He and Prisma's Dr. Helmut Albrecht also said they agree with DHEC and CDC recommendations for individuals to vaccinate and wear masks in public.
Dr. Albrecht explained that for mask wearing to work, the vast majority of individuals need to wear masks. He said that this is especially the case for those that may be carrying the virus, as masks are better for preventing individuals from spreading the virus than they are at stopping the virus from infecting you.
