Last week, vaccine eligibility was expanded to Mississippians 50 years and older. With thousands of first dose appointments still available at covidvaccine.umc.edu, Governor Tate Reeves explained this morning that the longer those go unfilled, the more likely it is that eligibility will soon be opened up to all Mississippians.
With the state’s vaccine allocation continuing to grow with the addition of Johnson and Johnson doses, the governor noted that supply is beginning to meet demand.
“We find ourselves in a position in which we are beginning to see a slight shift whereas it used to be that demand significantly outstripped supply, now we’re at a point where supply has caught up to demand. We’re not there yet, but I will tell you that those who are over 50 or have pre-existing conditions, there are appointments available. Go make yourself an appointment. They’re situated throughout the state. If you don’t very, very soon, we are going to open up the availability of this vaccine to everyone in the state,” Reeves stated.
Mississippi has surpassed 800,000 administered doses of the vaccine with over 530,000 Mississippians having received at least one dose.
This comes on the one-year anniversary of the state’s first confirmed case of COVID-19. Since then, the state has seen nearly 300,000 cases with the virus claiming the lives of 6,864 Mississippians.
