You choose: Get a vaccine or the virus, Dobbs says. Here’s the latest on COVID in MS.
Mississippi has 164,319 preteens and teens now eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine to help prevent them from getting the coronavirus, state health officials said Thursday.
This came after the Centers for Disease Control gave approval Wednesday for use of the Pfizer vaccine for students aged 12 to 15.
Appointments for the free vaccinations through the state health department were available beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday at covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling 877-978-6453.
A parent or guardian must accompany minors to their vaccination and no appointment is required at walk-in vaccination sites. Those include the health department sites in Pascagoula and Biloxi:
- Mississippi Coast Coliseum, 2350 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, Tuesday and Thursday
- Jackson County: Civic Center, 2902 Shortcut Road Pascagoula, Wednesday
Vaccinations may also be available at local pharmacies, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and the student’s primary care physician.
In an effort to encourage people to get vaccinated, Winn-Dixie’s parent company Southeastern Grocers announced customers and employees can get grocery coupons for up to $15 off by completing both the first ($5 off) and second dose ($10 off) of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, and $10 off with a completed single dose Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine. Vaccine is available at Winn-Dixie pharamcies by appointment or walk-in.
While older Mississippians had more cases of the coronavirus, more than 22,000 students in the 12-17 age group were infected with COVID-19, said Dr. Paul Byers, state epidemiologist. The state had 62 hospitalizations and 20 cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in the age group, he said, and at least one death.
The Pfizer vaccine looks to be near 100% effective in kids this age, said Dr. Thomas Dobbs, state health officer.
Mississippi Department of Health also plans to offer a voluntary testing program for teachers and students at schools that are interested, officials said.
The state also has the capability of providing mass vaccination sites at schools, they said.
Now’s the time to get the vaccine
“I do want to take the opportunity to kind of shake us out of complacency,” Dobbs said.
Although Mississippi is doing reasonably well, he said, the state did record 300 new cases Thursday, and nearly three of every four people are still vulnerable to COVID-19.
About 851,000 people in Mississippi are fully vaccinated, or 27%, compared to 36% nationwide.
“I want us all to really sit back and realize that you’re likely either to get the COVID vaccine or the COVID virus,” Dobbs said. “And under every circumstance, under every conceivable scenario, you are a thousand-fold if not a million-fold better off getting the vaccine than contracting COVID.”
Residents have plenty of opportunities to get the vaccine throughout Mississippi, Byers said.
More than 400 cases of variants have been identified in Mississippi, he said, most of them the U.K. variant. The vaccine is so far protecting people from the variant strains, he said, and prevents severe complications from the virus.
Mississippi has done a “remarkable job” vaccinating older residents, he said. There are 70% aged 65 and older who received one dose, and more than 65% received both.
Mississippi, Coast coronavirus numbers
It’s good news all around as far as new cases and deaths on the Coast, across Mississippi and the country.
The U.S. is now averaging less than 40,000 new cases a day for the first time since September.
On Thursday afternoon, the CDC issued new guidance saying fully vaccinated people can stop wearing masks in most places.
In Mississippi, hospitalizations, cases and deaths are still declining. The seven-day average of new deaths was at two on Thursday, “which is a huge win for us,” Byers said.
But the virus isn’t completely gone. This month, the lower six counties have had six new deaths and nearly 400 new cases.
The first case of coronavirus was reported in Mississippi on March 11, 2020. Since then:
Mississippi
- 314,509 cases
- 7,247 deaths
- 362 new cases and 3 deaths reported Thursday
- 1,343 cases and 19 deaths since Monday
South Mississippi
- 43,994 cases
- 868 deaths
- 43 cases, (35 in Harrison County), 0 deaths reported Thursday
- 205 cases, 1 death since Monday
By county:
- George — 2,480 cases, 48 deaths
- Hancock — 3,793 cases, 86 deaths
- Harrison — 17,934 cases, 309 deaths
- Jackson — 13,447 cases, 246 deaths
- Pearl River — 4,512 cases, 146 deaths
- Stone — 1,828 cases, 33 deaths
This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
