Lexington Medical Center reports 30 more covid patients died since Sept. 14.

4 died Monday, the latest count at press time.

123 covid patients are being cared for, down from 145 this time last week.

104 of those patients were not vaccinated and 9 had been vaccinated.

35 covid patients are in intensive care, down from 40 last week.

33 were not vaccinated and 2 had been vaccinated.

The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control last week reported almost 38,000 new cases, its 2nd highest weekly total and 465 more deaths.

Since the pandemic began in 2020, 11,619 South Carolinians have died.

SC health officials blamed the highly contagious delta variant for the majority of new cases and deaths.

The exact number of delta cases is unknown.

Only a few confirmed cases undergo genome sequencing, the process to determine the variant.

At least 130 deaths, less than 1% of all covid-related deaths, have been from breakthrough cases in those fully vaccinated.

65% were over age 70 and the majority of those died of such causes as heart and kidney diseases.

DHEC said 50% of South Carolinians are now fully vaccinated which is among the lowest rates in the US.

A Sept. 15 Washington Post study found that 1 out of 500 Americans with covid have died from the disease.

It’s worse in South Carolina where 1 of every 450 people have died.

African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans are hit hardest.

The reporting has not been without critics.

Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins University says the Centers for Disease Control is over-counting deaths.

He said the CDC counts every covid-related death even if the patient died of an underlying cause.