COVID vaccine demand for 75+ MS residents outstrips supply but more sites, doses coming
Demand is outstripping supply now that the Mississippi State Department of Health has opened COVID-19 vaccinations to residents 75 and older, but State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs expects wider availability as clinics, pharmacies and community health centers sign up to offer the shots.
He also believes residents 65 and older will be able to begin receiving shots by the week beginning Jan. 18, although that Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Residents 65-74 can’t begin booking appointments yet, he said.
In a news conference Wednesday, Dobbs also said that 189,000 doses of the vaccine have been allocated, with 132,000 of those doses going so far to hospitals, primarily for health care workers, and nursing homes.
MSDH is now rolling out shots for the vulnerable population 75 and older at 18 drive-thru locations. Residents can sign up online for the shots or call 877-978-6453 for an appointment.
Appointment slots have already filled up through the end of January at MSDH drive-thru locations in Harrison, Jackson and Forrest counties, the health department sites offering vaccinations right now in South Mississippi.
Dobbs said MSDH is signing up private medical clinics, pharmacies and community health centers to offer vaccinations and residents should book shots when they become available the way they do regular appointments.
The health department will maintain a list of participating pharmacies, clinics and community centers on its website, he said. Coastal Family Health Center, which has a number of locations in South Mississippi, expects to begin offering the COVID-19 vaccination next week.
“There is going to be some demand that outstrips supply, at least in the short-term,” Dobbs said. “It’s not going to be immediately available to everyone. We’re going to get (the vaccine) out as quickly as we can and make sure folks who need it the most get it as quickly as possible.”
Dobbs said the state has 200,00 residents 75 or older and 400,000 who are 65 or older.
Singing River offers vaccines for 75+ population
Singing River Health System is offering vaccinations to residents 75 and older beginning Thursday, media relations director Sarah Duffey said in an interview with the Sun Herald. Duffey said residents who want to schedule shots can call 228-809-5555 or sign up on the Singing River website.
She said vaccines will be offered on a first-scheduled, first-served basis. Duffey said the goal is to vaccinate up to 1,600 people by Friday.
Vaccine supplies steadily arriving
Both Singing River and Memorial Hospital, based in Gulfport, say vaccination supplies are steady. Singing River has vaccinated health care workers who want shots and is ready to vaccinate the elderly as COVID-19 continues to fill hospitals and case counts remain high.
“The only way we’re going to get this under control is to get as much of the public vaccinated as possible,” said Chris Ayers, a Singing River clinical pharmacist.
Those with questions about the COVID-19 vaccines can call 877-978-6453, the MSDH says.
At Memorial, the first phase of vaccinations for front-line health care workers is being completed. The hospital system is expanding availability to all support staff and the broader health care community, including dental and psychiatric facilities, said Cindy Hansen, vaccine coordinator and director of employee health.
Memorial also is about to begin offering vaccinations to residents who are 75 or older but is still working out details.
Hansen said that Memorial has around 5,000 employees, with around 1,700 vaccinated.
Not all employees are getting the vaccination, which requires a booster shot, Duffey and Hansen said.
But the vaccine is proving safe, they said, with transient reactions such as swelling, low-grade fever and aches that resolve within 12 hours or less.
At Singing River, Duffey said, a little more than 2,000 health care workers had been vaccinated as of Tuesday. The health care system employs around 3,000.
“We have not see any issues locally,” Ayers said. “Obviously, with any vaccine, there is a chance you can have an adverse event. But from what we’ve seen, these vaccines are overwhelmingly safe.”
More on Moderna, Pfizer vaccines
Vaccines and supplies have arrived in steady quantities with MSDH tracking the doses administered. Unlike testing kits earlier in the pandemic, no shortages are being experienced.
However, drugmakers and federal officials are looking for ways to expand supplies as the vaccine rollout moves through priority tiers to the general public.
The nation is relying on two vaccines to inoculate against COVID-19, one from Moderna and the other from Pfizer-BioNTech. Moderna and scientists are studying whether doses of its vaccine can be halved and still be effective.
The Moderna vaccine requires a booster after 28 days, while Pfizer’s booster is administered 21 days after the initial vaccination.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 10:33 AM.
