Lexington Medical Center reports 47 more covid patients died this month.

3 died Monday, the latest count available at press time.

145 covid patients are being cared for, down from 181 this time last week.

126 of those patients are unvaccinated and 19 were vaccinated patients.

40 covid patients are in intensive care, down from 52 last week. 38 are unvaccinated and 2 were vaccinated.

The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control said more unvaccinated Lexington County residents are being infected.

Others who have been vaccinated are being infected but how many health officials don’t yet know.

Many infected may not realize they have been infected or show no symptoms.

If you have not yet been vaccinated you are more likely to end up in the hospital and possibly in intensive care or on a ventilator.

DHEC said 21% of covid-19 deaths recorded had received vaccine.

That means 79% who died were unvaccinated.

More than 1,000 people have died of covid-19 in South Carolina over the last month. The statewide death toll is now 11,051.

DHEC also reported Thursday that 3,466 new cases came in from testing completed 2 days prior.

That brings the state case count to nearly 780,000 since the pandemic began.

Citing the alarming rate at which children are requiring hospitalization due to covid-19, the SC Children’s Hospital Collaborative is providing a daily report.

It will show the number of hospitalized children (ages up to 17) with covid-19, the number of those children requiring ICU care, and the number on ventilators.

Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC Public Health Director said, “This virus has taken the lives of more than 11,000 South Carolinians and is now more than ever hurting innocent children.”