Reeves defies health advice while admitting COVID fourth wave yet to ‘peak’ in MS
Gov. Tate Reeves said Friday that Mississippi’s fourth wave of COVID-19 is yet to peak, despite record new cases this week, but he continued to rule out mask mandates and lockdowns, or urge Mississippians to get vaccinated.
Reeves, who is vaccinated, stood maskless beside his equally protected but masked State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs at a grim Friday news conference held amid mounting cases and the inevitable deaths to follow.
Vaccination is still the best response to the virulent spread of the COVID-19 delta variant in Mississippi, but residents who do get sick should immediately seek monoclonal antibody treatment, Dobbs said.
‘The long and short of it is, if you get COVID, the first thing you should do is talk to your doctor about monoclonals,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said.
“ . . . We know that of people who get COVID-diagnosed in Mississippi, about 2.2% will die.”
He said people should not wait until they get too sick to call doctors because it might be too late for the treatment, which is available around the state at 40 centers and at some private clinics.
The state also is working to bring in federal teams so more infected residents can be treated with the antibodies. The shot or infusion is effective at preventing hospitalization and improves survival rates by producing antibodies that attack COVID.
Unvaccinated sick, dying from COVID
Gov. Tate Reeves continues to advise people to consult their doctors about vaccines, but said during the news conference, “I believe the best course for individuals is to get vaccinated.”
He also said, “I believe the vaccines are safe, I believe they are effective and I believe they are the best tool moving forward to beat the virus.”
Mississippi is one of the least vaccinated states in the nation and has set three records this week for new COVID-19 cases as the highly contagious delta variant spreads.
Although Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has urged Mississippians to get vaccinated, Reeves refused to be pried Friday from his insistence that residents should make the choice after consulting their physicians.
Statistics show that vaccinated residents are far less likely to be hospitalized or die if they do get COVID. Dobbs repeated some of those statistics at the news conference, saying 97% of cases and 89% of hospitalizations are in the unvaccinated.
Dobbs stressed the number of young people succumbing to COVID in the fourth wave. Over the past four days, he said, deaths have included:
- Four healthy people in their 20s, two of them pregnant, none vaccinated.
- 10 people in their 30s, none vaccinated.
- 12 in their 40s, two vaccinated.
- 17 people 50-60, one vaccinated.
“There is a pattern here,” Dobbs said. “We are seeing vaccine breakthrough (cases), but, by and large, the vaccine has been incredibly protective.”
New COVID peak coming for MS
Reeves indicated the state is headed “towards a new peak” in COVID’s fourth wave.
On a positive note, he said, the number of vaccinated residents is increasing, with only 18,000 shots given four weeks ago but 70,000 expected this week.
Only 33% of Mississippians are fully vaccinated, the latest report from MSDH shows. In South Mississippi, Pearl River and Hancock counties have the lowest vaccination rate at 24%, while Harrison has the highest at 31%.
Dobbs said more information will be coming on booster doses of the vaccine just approved by the Federal Drug Administration, but those shots will be available only to those who are immune compromised, including cancer and transplant patients.
“Right now,” Dobbs said. “it still needs to be a physician-patient conversation.”
Gov. Reeves grows testy over masks
Despite the dire number of COVID cases, Reeves continued to say he will issue no lockdown orders or mask mandates. He also believes those who are vaccinated should be able to forego masks, as he himself does. Dobbs, who is also vaccinated, wore his mask as he stood beside Reeves.
The governor finally grew testy with one journalist who was asking about the need for vaccinated individuals to wear masks as a way of protecting others. Studies have found that vaccinated individuals might not get as sick from COVID but can still spread the virus.
Reeves suggested the reporter go home and lock himself away if he wants to “virtue signal” about masks.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
