MS should receive first COVID-19 vaccine doses next week. Here’s who will get them.
The first coronavirus vaccines should arrive next week in Mississippi and the state’s top two health officers say they will receive the first shots during a live news conference to show they believe the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective.
“We’re ready,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said during a Mississippi State Department of Health news conference Tuesday. Dobbs said that he and State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers are getting the first vaccines to show they believe in them and that it’s the right thing to do.
He said the state plans to push out vaccines to all critical-care hospitals for frontline health care workers exposed to COVID-19 patients. In the second week, Dobbs hopes the state will have enough doses to begin vaccinations at nursing homes and then other long-term care centers where COVID-19 is prevalent.
Vaccinations for high-risk individuals and essential workers are expected to follow.
Dobbs does not expect vaccines to be widely available for the general public until spring or summer. Approval of the Pfizer vaccine is expected Thursday from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Moderna vaccine is about one to two weeks behind Pfizer in the process, Byers said.
Dobbs said the Pfizer vaccine is showing broad effectiveness, regardless of age. The efficacy rate is 95%. No major safety concerns have surfaced.
Dobbs said those vaccinated can experience temporary swelling around the injection site and fatigue, but that’s to be expected as the vaccine works to activate the immune system against COVID-19.
Enough freezers have been identified to store the Pfizer vaccine, which is administered in two successive doses, Dobbs said. The vaccine must be stored at minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit.
“We’ve got plans and backup plans and backup plans for our backup plans,” Dobbs said.
Vaccine arriving as COVID-19 cases hit record levels
In addition to pushing the vaccine out to hospitals, Dobbs said he hopes in the second week that health department drive-thru sites will be set up to vaccinate more health-care workers.
The vaccine is expected to arrive as Mississippi experiences record levels of COVID-19 infections.
“You can’t clean it up unless you turn off the spigot and we haven’t turned off the spigot of new cases,” Dobbs said. “We’ve got to turn off the supply. People are going to die and have died because they haven’t had access to the care they need during this coronavirus pandemic.”
He said Mississippi hospitals are routinely unable to accept transfer patients because beds are full and those patients must be treated in emergency rooms until beds become available.
Dobbs, known for his diplomacy, stopped short of criticizing Gov. Tate Reeves for sending out invitations to upcoming Christmas parties, saying he would do what he could to advise the governor on hosting safe gatherings if asked. But Dobbs isn’t going to any parties.
“I feel like I’m the Scrooge that killed parties,” Dobbs said. “I’ve been trying to avoid parties for a long time . . . We try to practice what we preach.”
He has repeatedly said, and said again Tuesday, that COVID-19 cases would begin to decrease if Mississippians would wear masks, social distance and avoid nonessential gatherings.
“I think one of the highest-risk things you can do right now is go to a funeral,” Dobbs said. “We’re seeing a funeral lead to a funeral on a regular basis.”
