Free from SC guidelines, Catawba tribe providing COVID-19 vaccines to members over 18
South Carolina’s only federally recognized Native American tribe, the Catawba Indian Nation, is forging its own path in vaccinating its citizens against coronavirus.
The tribe, whose reservation is in Rock Hill, S.C., has members spread across both Carolinas and is treated as a sovereign government. The Catawba reservation has received its own vaccine allocations through the Indian Health Services — a division in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — and has been administering doses to Catawba members 18 and older at the reservation’s clinic, tribe spokesperson Elizabeth Harris recently told The Herald.
Initially, the clinic — the Catawba Service Unit — restricted appointments to members 70 and older, Elizabeth Harris said. But recently, the clinic has expanded appointments to anyone 18 and older with a tribal ID indicating they are Catawba, she said.
The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control has implemented phased eligibility access for the coronavirus vaccine. People in South Carolina who are 70 and older, regardless of health status or preexisting conditions, can schedule appointments. However, Gov. Henry McMaster has urged the agency to expand eligibility to those 65 and older, like neighboring North Carolina.
The two coronavirus vaccines currently available — Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — have not yet been approved for children. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been authorized for those 16 or older, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Moderna’s vaccine is authorized for those 18 or older. Both drugmakers are currently testing its vaccine on younger children, according to the FDA.
So far, the Catawba reservation has received doses of the Moderna vaccine and has quickly vaccinated a number of its 2,800 members through its organized distribution program, Harris said.
The Catawba Service Unit has mobilized to call and schedule appointments for eligible tribal members, she said. The vaccines are distributed in a drive-thru style, so patients never have to step inside the clinic, she said.
“Native Americans, like other minority communities, have been shown to have a higher death rate if they do contract the virus,” she said. “So, there’s been a lot of reaching out and trying to educate our community.”
‘Can’t be understated’
The vaccination effort is an important initiative to the tribe, Chief Bill Harris said.
“The thing that can’t be understated is the impact (COVID-19) is having on indigenous communities,” he told the Herald. “When people say, ‘Well, I don’t feel uncomfortable about taking a vaccine,’ I think they need to look at their community and see what the impact the vaccine is having, and that the virus itself is having on the community.”
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the coronavirus-associated mortality rate among American Indians and Alaskan Natives was 1.8 times the rate among non-Hispanic whites from last Jan. 1 to June 30. The data included information gathered from 14 states with large Native American populations.
However, data from South Carolina was not included.
The Catawbas plan to hold a forum this month where health care providers meet with members concerned about the safety of the vaccine.
“I’m sure there’s still plenty of our tribal citizens that are kind of still holding off,” Elizabeth Harris said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to educate and get that information out to people so they know that the vaccination is safe and effective.”
Anyone with a tribal ID card, can call the the Catawba Service Unit at 803-372-5681 to see if they are eligible to receive the vaccine.
Those who believe they are eligible for a Catawba tribal ID card and do not have one, can call Tribal Enrollment Coordinator Donna Curtis at (803) 366-4792 extension 253 or donna.curtis@catawbaindian.net.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 8:09 AM with the headline "Free from SC guidelines, Catawba tribe providing COVID-19 vaccines to members over 18."
