SC homeless face greater risk, extra challenges to get COVID-19 vaccine

A homeless man sits on the steps of Charleston’s Market Hall on March 23, 2020. File/Lauren Petracca/Staff
By Lauren Petracca lpetracca@postandcourier.com

By Fleming Smith fsmith@postandcourier.com
Mar 12, 2021

Excerpt

A sign of hope

In Charleston shelter One80 Place, staff are bringing a pharmacist on-site next week to begin vaccinations for clients. 

As of March 11, around 60 people were residing in the shelter. That’s less than half of prepandemic occupancy, said Selena Wilson, the shelter’s chief program officer.

The imminent vaccinations give Wilson hope. “It’s a sense of relief, that this is what we’ve been waiting for,” she said.

With those in the shelter getting access to the vaccine, Wilson and health services director Kathy Moore plan to start outreach efforts to unsheltered individuals next. 

In the shelter itself, vaccinations won’t have much of an immediate effect on how One80 Place operates. It will still operate at reduced capacity, and beds will be spread out for social distancing, Wilson said. She hopes the vaccine can become a part of the health intake process.

“We’ve got a good way to keep people safe now,” Moore said. But that doesn’t mean things can go back to normal in the shelter anytime soon.

Moore recalled the deep uncertainty staff members felt about how the shelter would navigate the pandemic when it first began. Since then, administrators only had one confirmed COVID-19 case at the shelter, she said.