Clinics in Mississippi are ordering less coronavirus vaccine doses as demand for the shots declines. Since the start of April, vaccination rates have dropped nearly 65%, and last week fewer than 50,000 people were vaccinated in Mississippi. Matthew Walker with Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, says the hospital has increased community outreach to make vaccines more accessible. But he says that's not enough.
"I would love it if there was a strategy that we could use in order to encourage people to kinda do the right thing. But I think that we are at that subset of the population that they're just not interested in the vaccine, and it's very unfortunate," says Walker.
Research has found that many who say they will not get a coronavirus vaccine will not change their opinion if shown evidence.
Dr. Rambod Rouhbakhsh with Hattiesburg Clinic says demand in his area for the vaccine has declined, and in large part due to fear around the vaccine. He says poor word choice used in the initial vaccine rollout may be contributing to hesitancy.
"I think we have to be careful when we tell people these vaccines were developed in record time. No steps were skipped," says Dr. Rouhbakhsh. "So we are now at a point where people are fearful. They're worried that this was developed too quickly, that there could be side effects, and it's important for us to address all of those concerns with compassion.
Dr. Rouhbakhsh says the recent emergency authorization by the FDA that allows for use of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in children age 12-15 could help increase demand for the shots in Mississippi.
