During an afternoon press conference, Governor Tate Reeves announced that Mississippi recently surpassed the milestone of administrating 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
To be exact, 114,947 total doses have been given (105,228 first doses and 9,719 second doses), according to the governor. This comes a week after eligibility was expanded to those over the age of 65 and those with underlying health conditions. While appointment slots were quickly filled, 20,000 additional appointment windows were loaded to covidvaccine.umc.edu.
The website crashed as it was inundated with Mississippians attempting to sign up last week, but Executive Director of MEMA Colonel Greg Michel explained that the site has been surge tested and is now able to accommodate more people at a time. Additionally, you can call (877) 978-6453 to set up an appointment. The call center, according to the governor has been “quadrupled” in size to cut down on wait times.
This week, Governor Reeves detailed that Mississippi has an allocation of 37,000 doses to be given out at state-run sites as well as 25,000 first doses given to hospitals and private clinics across the state. Governor Tate Reeves stated that of the 147 private clinics on the list, 94 of them had given out less than half of their current allocation.
“This week, we will only send additional vaccines to those providers who have given out at least 65% of their current doses,” the governor explained. “the vaccines that we don’t send to sites that are falling behind can be used to support sites that are efficiently getting the vaccine out.”
The state will also receive an additional 5,100 doses originally allocated for the state’s long-term care facilities through the federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens. Governor Reeves said that it appears the program was over-allocated. Following a conversation with both companies, it appears that the program is hitting its stride.
“They continue to tell me that we’re on track for most all of our nursing homes be served by the end of this month. In fact, I have significant data which shows that approximately 95% of all nursing home residents will have access by the end of the month,” Governor Reeves explained.
While supply vs. demand will be an issue in the weeks moving forward, the governor noted that officials will continue to do everything in their power to build capacity. Next in line is the plan to expand eligibility will be first responders and teachers.
Watch today’s briefing below:
