Mississippians age 65 and older have received more than half of the state’s coronavirus vaccines. But health officials are concerned about disparities in who can get the shots because of location, internet access, and transportation. Mississippi AARP State Director Kimberly Campbell says the federal government needs to increase the doses coming into the state each week. She says there also needs to be additional funding available to support vaccination efforts in underserved communities. “To really provide those measures to make sure that we have enough sites,” says Campbell. “Are there areas to where we don’t have enough sites for however many mile radius? We want to make sure that we can have sites available as much as possible, and make sure that people also have the transportation to getting to those sites as well.”
Long-term care facilities are expected to finish the first round of vaccinations this week according to representatives with CVS and Walgreens, the federally contracted partners conducting vaccinations in Mississippi’s nursing homes. In the facilities that have finished vaccinations, nearly every resident has gotten the shot according to the Department of Health. But only 4 in 10 long-term care employees are participating. Campbell says the vaccine should not be mandatory, but employees should consider the health risks they are placing on residents. “We think that that’s just another layer of protection not only for them but for the people that they care for,” says Campbell. “If you’re working in a long-term care facility, again, nationally we have lost about 110,000 nursing home residents and staff, have died to COVID-19. That is a tremendous issue across the country.”
Health officials are criticizing the federal partnership with Walgreens and CVS for slow vaccination rollout, The two pharmacies were allocated 47,000 doses of the vaccine in December. As of late last week, only about 14,000 doses have been administered to long-term care residents and employees.
