Officials from the Mississippi Department of Health announced more COVID-19 vaccine doses have been allocated to the state, which will help support appointments through this week.
In a statement, the department did not detail how many additional doses the state would receive, but said the allotment will also allow a modest number of doses to be shared with community partners. Those doses will primarily be shipped to locations that have geological and racial disparities, according to the statement.
MSDH said it expects more vaccination appointments to be available beginning the week of Jan. 25, based on the vaccine availability forecasts.
Last week, officials from MSDH announced it was no longer accepting appointments at its 18 drive-thru vaccination sites because all available vaccine doses had been committed. The department said the new allocation would allow for “additional drive-thru appointments, in more locations.”
Additional details on how many appointments would be open were not available.
The announcement came as COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Tate County and the rest of the state. A total of 2,724 coronavirus cases and 62 virus-related deaths have been reported locally, according to MSDH statistics. Six of those deaths occurred over the last two weeks.
MSDH said second doses would be available for all residents who have already received their first dose. The state receives vaccine shipments weekly, but a large vaccine shipment expected in February will be in addition to the normal shipment, according to the statement.
Any resident interested in making an appointment can do so by visiting covidvaccine.umc.edu or calling the health department's COVID-19 hotline at (877) 978-6453 or (601) 965-4071.
Gov. Reeves also extended his mask mandate for 75 counties including Tate, requiring residents to wear face coverings and follow enhanced safety precautions. According to the new executive order, the mandate will be in effect until Feb. 3.
A previous mandate that was in place for 78 counties was set to expire Friday, Jan. 15. The executive order states that some counties were removed from that list, but new ones were also added.
Only seven counties in Mississippi are not under heightened restrictions including Adams, Issaquena, Jefferson, Lawrence, Sharkey, Quitman and Wilkinson. Residents in the affected counties must wear masks inside businesses, schools or other public indoor spaces when at least six feet of social distancing cannot be maintained.
They also must keep groups to no more than 50 outdoors and no more than 10 indoors when social distancing isn't possible.
