Health care professionals in Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties will have the opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine from the Mississippi State Department of Health this week.
MSDH officials will host drive-through vaccination sites at health departments throughout the state for health care workers at risk of being exposed directly or indirectly to COVID-19, according to MSDH’s website. A site will be set up at Lowndes County Health Department on Lehmberg Road today and Thursday at Oktibbeha County Health Department on Yeates Street on Wednesday and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
Vaccines are available to health care workers, both paid and unpaid, who work at acute care facilities, long-term acute care facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home health care, mobile clinics and outpatient facilities such as physicians’ offices, MSDH’s website says.
Currently, the vaccine is only available for health care workers, but Gov. Tate Reeves announced at a press conference Monday in Jackson that MSDH will begin distributing vaccines to individuals 75 and older next week and 65 and older the week after that.
“Right now the most important task that we have is getting vaccines out to the public,” Reeves said. “That is our only way out of all of this.”
Reeves said 163,750 doses have been distributed to Mississippi as of late last week. Close to 80,000 are designated for long-term care facilities through a partnership with the federal government, CVS and Walgreens pharmacies.
As of late last week, 1,105 of those doses had been distributed, Reeves said. Mississippi’s health care providers have been shipped 85,750 doses, 21,653 of which had been administered as of last week.
Health officials said the vaccination at drive-through sites will take about 10 minutes and that patients will receive a card reminding them when to return for their second dose — 21 days after the first dose for those who take the Pfizer vaccine and 28 days for those who take the Moderna. The sites at Lowndes and Oktibbeha health departments will both distribute the Moderna vaccine.
Both Reeves and state health officials urge those who have taken the vaccine to continue practicing social distancing and mask-wearing.
Health care workers who want to receive vaccinations at a drive-through site can make an appointment at covidvaccine.umc.edu/.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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