FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 9, 2021

COLUMBIA, S.C. ― The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has named My Pharmacy in Lexington County the newest recipient of the agency’s Community Hero award for going above and beyond in making COVID-19 vaccines accessible within its community.

While DHEC is the state’s lead public health agency, it can’t defeat COVID-19 alone. South Carolina needs the help, support, and ideas from partners across the state to enhance access to COVID-19 education, testing and vaccines within our communities. Some heroes have sprung into action, and their examples serve as a guide for others to follow.

My Pharmacy
My Pharmacy, located in Lexington, South Carolina, began administering COVID-19 vaccines on Jan. 14, 2021. The pharmacy recently surpassed 15,500 shots administered and continues to play a vital role in helping the community battle COVID-19.  My Pharmacy has prioritized vaccinating people in rural and underserved areas by utilizing its mobile van to host vaccination events in communities within Dillon, Manning, and Florence in partnerships with local mayors and politicians.  

The pharmacy has also used social media to geo-target advertisements informing people in rural areas that My Pharmacy is available to them to get vaccinated or tested. The pharmacy’s staff provides important information about the vaccines to their customers and also helps customers with limited or no Internet learn how to register themselves and others to get the lifesaving shots. My Pharmacy also has offered incentives to help encourage vaccinations. 

“The local nurses and pharmacists and technicians in the area all came out and became employees of ours and learned how to do the COVID vaccines, learned how to do testing,” said My Pharmacy owner Brent Munnerlyn. “Along with the partnership with DHEC, having that support from our local healthcare providers allowed us to do the workload it took to get the community vaccinated. Helping the community get vaccinated not only allowed us to educate people about the vaccine and about testing; it also allowed us to educate them about all of the services independent pharmacies offer in addition to simply putting pills in a bottle.” 

DHEC presented a Community Hero award to My Pharmacy staff on Sept. 8, 2021. From left to right are My Pharmacy employees Virginia Bishop, Brittany Candena, Mario Richard, Brent Munnerlyn (My Pharmacy co-owner), Hamp Manning (My Pharmacy co-owner), DHEC Immunizations Director Stephen White, and My Pharmacy employee Septima Blanchard.

“The partnerships My Pharmacy has created and fostered are a tremendous example of community-driven efforts that are vital in fighting this pandemic,” said Thomas Bowen, DHEC’s Acting Health Director for the Midlands. “We are extremely thankful for our Community Heroes and their continued efforts to help South Carolina defeat COVID-19.”

The locally owned pharmacy continues to be a critical partner in supporting South Carolina’s COVID-19 Vaccine Plan and the ongoing mission of protecting the health and wellbeing of all South Carolinians by helping as many people as possible get fully vaccinated as quickly as possible. A short video about the pharmacy’s vaccination efforts, from May 2021, is available here.

Learn more about My Pharmacy, located at 808 Highway 378 Suite B in Lexington, at mypharmacyandoptical.com.

About Community Hero Awards and Nominations
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across our state and nation, DHEC wants to celebrate the community heroes among us. Community heroes demonstrate gold standards in excellence to expand access to COVID-19 education, testing and vaccines in our state. These heroes are ordinary people doing remarkable things. They are community members, partners, providers, and DHEC staff across the state.

To read about previous Community Hero recipients and to nominate a person, provider or organization, visit scdhec.gov/communityhero.

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