COVID vaccine

The nation's youngest children are getting their chance at vaccines for COVID-19. Shots began Monday at a few locations, though they were expected to ramp up after the Juneteenth federal holiday. The Food and Drug Administration cleared vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer last week and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final signoff over the weekend. Roughly 18 million youngsters under 5 are eligible. For the little kids, Pfizer's vaccine is three shots and Moderna's is two shots. Getting some parents on board may be a challenge given disappointing vaccination rates in school-age kids.

Roughly 18 million children under the age of five are still not eligible for a COVID vaccine as parents struggle to keep them safe with limited daycare options.

A panel of South Carolina lawmakers advanced a proposal Tuesday to ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates for state and local government employees, contractors and public school students.

Pediatricians are frustrated by what one outspoken Columbia doctor calls a tendency to 'compartmentalize' COVID-19 deaths in children. Meanwhile, a Greenville mom's small children were part of a vaccine trial that could soon lead to shots for children as young as 5. (And, by the way, Mom's really frustrated too.)

On this edition of the South Carolina Lede for September 25, 2021, we look at the redistricting process with Lynn Teague, vice president of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina. Also on this episode: an update on COVID-19 vaccine boosters; state economists break down the massive tax revenue hauls hitting state coffers; and testimonies from medical experts at this week's state Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee hearings.

This edition of the South Carolina Lede for September 21, 2021, features: a discussion about equity and infrastructure investment as Congress returns to take up trillions of dollars in spending; new data from Pfizer about giving young children its COVID-19 vaccine; and DHEC's Dr. Brannon Traxler on how the Palmetto State is handling the recent surge of the Delta variant.

Upstate hospitals are past capacity as more COVID-19 patients strain resources. Their frustration over what they see as a preventable catastrophe is weighing on them.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for September 11, 2021, we look at the continued debate between state leaders and the Biden administration over vaccination and mask mandates, hear about the struggles faced by frontline medical workers in the surge of the COVID-19 Delta variant, and reflect on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for September 7, 2021, we speak with Dr. Melissa Nolan, professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health and co-lead for the Sampling and Testing Representative Outreach for Novel Coronavirus Guidance (STRONG).

On this edition of the South Carolina Lede for September 4, 2021, we break down the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision this week that found Columbia's mask mandate for schools to be illegal. Also on this episode: new analysis of CDC data by The New York Times finds that the Palmetto State has the highest per capita COVID-19 case rate in the country; HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge visits the state to promote vaccinations; and much more.