Mississippi has reached a major milestone in its rollout of the COVID-19 as the state has administered its one-millionth dose.
Governor Tate Reeves commemorated the achievement from Trustmark Park in Pearl—one of the vaccination sites run by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
Today’s milestone comes just over three months since the first doses of the vaccine arrived in Mississippi. So far, approximately 365,000 Mississippians have been fully vaccinated with nearly 700,000 residents having received their first dose.
“We said, a little over three months ago when we started administering vaccines, that we had caught our first glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. We acknowledged that, at that time, the light was dim, but it brought with it a hope of a return to more normal life. Today the light is a little less dim, and it’s getting a little bit brighter every single day,” the governor said.
With all Mississippians (16+) now eligible to get vaccinated, the governor explained that the next hurdle the rollout faces is “vaccine hesitancy.”
“We have vaccine hesitancy in our state just like we see all across the nation,” he said.
The governor would later outline the rigorous approval process that the vaccines went through as well as the fact that there have been no large-scale side effects through one million doses administered in Mississippi.
Both the governor and State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs stressed that while today is a big day for the state, this doesn’t mean that the pandemic is over and urged everyone to continue to take the proper precautions—especially for those in vulnerable populations.
“Please get vaccinated. We’re making progress every day. I’m super proud to walk around the state of Mississippi and see people loving their neighbor by wearing a mask, it’s fantastic,” Dr. Dobbs said.
First dose appointments remain available at covidvaccine.umc.edu.
