Mississippi no longer asking people to wait to schedule second dose of COVID-19 vaccine
If you’ve already received your first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi, there’s no longer a need to wait to schedule your second vaccination.
The State Department of Health announced Thursday that it’s no longer asking people who have received the vaccine to wait two weeks to schedule an appointment for the second dose.
Starting Monday, residents can make a second dose appointment for one of the state’s drive-through vaccination sites immediately after receiving the first dose.
The appointments can be made at covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling 877-978-6453.
Those eligible for the shot are anyone 65 and older or anyone over the age of 16 with pre-existing conditions that make them more susceptible to severe effects from the coronavirus.
The department of health asks that everyone attempt to schedule second-dose appointments at the same site they received their initial vaccine, but Gov. Tate Reeves said it’s not required.
“In a perfect world, we’d like everybody to go back to the same site. That’s not going to happen,” Reeves said. “People will get appointments somewhere closer. That’s allowable and acceptable. There are going to be the same number of appointments at roughly the same place. Some people will choose a different spot. Some people will have to go to a different spot because appointments fill up.”
Dr. Paul Byers, who is the state epidemiologist, says that the older age groups are steadily making progress in receiving the vaccine.
“We’ve vaccinated about 20% of our 65 and older vaccine,” Byers said. “If you look at our 75 and older residents, we’ve vaccinated about 30% of the population in that group.”
Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that his goal is for the state to have the capacity to vaccinate 100,000 people per week in February, half first doses and half second doses.
“We expect a slight uptick in supply of first doses,” Reeves said. “I said last week, we’ve received 37,000 doses per week. That will be closer to 43,000.”
“We have the capacity to do it. We’re scheduling appointments as we speak.”
The second Pfizer vaccine dose is due 21 days after the first vaccination. If you receive the Moderna vaccine first, the second dose is due 28 days later. Both are still effective if the doses are received more than 21 or 28 days apart.
If you have any questions or concerns about the vaccine, please call 877-978-6453.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 3:22 PM.
