Appointments for the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine are now being scheduled for the first two weeks of February at all of the state’s 19 drive-thru vaccination sites. And going forward, State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers says residents will be able to schedule their second dose immediately after getting the first shot. “We are working hard to make sure that we have an appropriate supply of vaccine for our drive-thru clinics, but also to make sure that we can continue to provide some modest amount to our external partners, who are really starting to do a good job with vaccinating the individuals in their communities,” says Dr. Byers.
This week the state has administered fewer vaccinations than in weeks prior. Governor Tate Reeves says the state had a limited number of doses but says larger allocations of vaccines from the federal government are on the horizon. He says his goal for February is to have the ability to vaccinate 100 thousand Mississippians every week. “That’s going to be subject to supply, we do expect a slight uptick starting next week of first doses, we’ve over the last three weeks we’ve gotten about 37,000 [doses] per week, we are expecting to get closer to 43,000 [doses per week],” says Reeves. “We have the capacity to do it, we believe, and we are scheduling appointments as we speak.”
Health officials say residents who are wanting to schedule their first vaccination should check availability over the weekend or early next week as more appointments are expected to be posted in the coming days.
