On the fence about getting the COVID vaccine?
Here’s some information from the Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH) website that might help you with your decision.
Of the COVID-19 cases reported in the state between July 15 and August 11, 98 percent were unvaccinated.
Of the COVID hospitalizations during that same period, 90 percent were unvaccinated.
Of the deaths attributed to COVID during that period, 84 percent were unvaccinated.
Friday morning the MSDH reported the highest number of new cases since the pandemic began, 5,031. Just when we thought COVID was in the rear-view mirror.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs in a virtual meeting with Gulf Coast business leaders Thursday said the state reported 36 deaths on Monday due to COVID-19 or complications from the virus. Eleven of those deaths were people under 50, he said. Three of them were in their 20s. Two were pregnant women. All were unvaccinated.
“Had those people been vaccinated, they would not be dead,” Dobbs said. “Not only would they not be dead, they would not have had to go to the hospital.”
Those words bear repeating: “Had those people been vaccinated, they would not be dead. Not only would they not be dead, they would not have had to go to the hospital.”
Most of these cases are the Delta variant, which according to the CDC website, is more than twice as contagious and is likely to cause more severe symptoms. Hospitals in Jackson and on the Coast are nearing the breaking point. Last week University of Mississippi Medical Center opened a 50-bed field hospital in one of its parking garages. Dobbs addressed the press from that facility Thursday. The following is an excerpt of his remarks:
“We should not be here, y’all. … We’ve gotten over a million people vaccinated, but too many people are getting information from wrong sources.
“I’m still baffled why anyone would think some random source on Facebook is better than an entire army of physicians, health-care assistants, nurses, researchers who all want to end this dang pandemic.
“These Facebook conspiratorialists are going to spread and run and have no accountability for the people who are dying, and we’re here picking up the mess.
“So please if you have questions, get your information from a real source. Don’t listen to the nonsense. Vaccines do not cause infertility. COVID disease reduces your chance of having a healthy pregnancy; we know that. And it kills pregnant moms who are healthy.
“Almost 8,000 Mississippians have died from COVID. How many Mississippians have died from the vaccine? Zero.
“We haven’t verified a single death, but it doesn’t keep people from saying crazy stuff on the internet. It’s incredibly frustrating; but it’s also incredibly sad because a lot of people are going to lose their lives because they’ve been lied to and they believed the things that were not true.”
Dr. Steve Threkeld, medical director for infectious disease at Baptist Memorial Health Care echoed Dobbs’ comments in an interview with Jackson WLBT-TV.
“The very sad thing is that they are almost all preventable,” Threkeld said.
“Essentially, every patient that we see in the ICU now is an unvaccinated individual, and we see them in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.”
About 50 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated. Mississippi, with just over 35 percent of its citizens fully vaccinated, is ranked 49th among states. Alabama is 50th.
Thirty-four percent of Lowndes Countians are fully vaccinated. Oktibbeha County has 40 percent of its population fully vaccinated, Clay County 32 percent and Noxubee 39 percent.
How do we win this war that has taken the lives of our friends, neighbors and thousands of our fellow Mississippians? We listen to the medical professionals on the front line of this battle. We get the vaccine.
It’s never been easier. Kroger, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and local health departments along with some mom-and-pop and convenience store pharmacies administer the vaccine. Go to vaccines.gov to find a convenient location.
Birney Imes ([email protected]) is the former publisher of The Dispatch.
Birney Imes III is the immediate past publisher of The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.