On Feb. 19, 2021, Governor Henry McMaster signed a Joint Resolution passed by the General Assembly relating to COVID-19 vaccines. Section 6 of the Joint Resolution requires the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to publish a daily report on its website of various information relating to vaccine doses. In order for DHEC to obtain all the information that is required to be published, section 6 also requires vaccine providers to report certain information to DHEC on a daily basis.
COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Portal
DHEC currently does not have a data system that captures the information required to be published by the Joint Resolution. As a result, DHEC has created a simple, intuitive, and secure COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Portal. The Portal will allow providers to easily report the required information directly to DHEC.
The Portal is very straightforward and self-explanatory. Even so, DHEC wants to make sure that all providers have the educational materials they need to help set up an account and appropriately use the portal. DHEC has created a short instruction manual that will be emailed to all providers in the coming days along with a link and instructions on how to set up an account.
To further streamline the registration process, DHEC has attempted to pre-populate the registration fields for providers. With information already in the system, setting up an account should be extremely quick and easy.
Data Reporting Requirements
The Joint Resolution requires COVID-19 vaccine providers to report to DHEC on a daily basis the total numbers of the following:
- COVID-19 vaccine doses in inventory as of that day, itemized by manufacturer;
- COVID-19 vaccines administered that day;
- upcoming appointments for a COVID-19 vaccine scheduled as of that day; and
- COVID-19 vaccines administered that day as a first dose and the number administered that day as a second dose, if applicable.
In addition, providers will be asked to report by manufacturer the total doses that were wasted.
Daily Data Reporting Deadlines to Begin on Wednesday, March 10
In order to give providers enough time to gather and report their daily numbers and for DHEC to then publish the information on its website, providers will have until noon of the following day to report to DHEC. For example, a provider will have until Wednesday at noon to report data from Tuesday. DHEC would then publish Tuesday’s information on Thursday.
DHEC will start on-boarding providers on Monday and Tuesday, March 8 and 9. The new reporting requirement will begin on Wednesday, March 10. Providers should make their first report to DHEC no later than noon on Thursday, March 11. DHEC issued Public Health Order COVID-19-9 on March 5, 2021, establishing the reporting requirements and timeframes.
Please note that the reporting requirement applies only to vaccine providers who are activated and start receiving vaccines. Once a provider is activated and begins receiving vaccines, the reporting requirement continues even for those weeks in which the provider may not receive vaccines.
Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Portal
To access the portal, a user account is required and account holders will need to be invited to be an authorized user in the portal by DHEC or another authorized user. Please see instruction on how to Register for Self Reporting. State providers should have received an email notification sent to your Chief Medical Officer that includes the unique COVID-19 Organization ID to use when registering. Federal providers should enter their provider PIN and will not receive an email at this time.
Comments and Questions
We understand the burden on vaccine providers and have made every attempt to limit the impact these new reporting requirements will have. In fact, DHEC’s own health departments must complete these daily reports just like all other providers in the state. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact vaxreporting@dhec.sc.gov
We appreciate your continued assistance as we work together to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.