Mississippians who are at least 65 years old or who have certain medical conditions are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Wednesday.

Mississippi is allowing people with chronic medical conditions that are outlined by the CDC to be vaccinated. State health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said these conditions include cancer, Down syndrome, heart disease, obesity, pregnancy, diabetes and other conditions. He also said that you can be vaccinated if your physician thinks that you have a medical condition that is serious enough to warrant a vaccine.

Reeves said that people in these two newly eligible groups can schedule a vaccination appointment at one of the state’s drive-thru vaccination sites by visiting covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling (877) 978-6453.

Reeves said that the next time he updates the state on the pandemic, he expects to make the vaccine eligible to teachers and first responders such as police officers and firefighters.

On Tuesday, MSDH reported that 62,744 people in Mississippi have been vaccinated against COVID-19. 1,341 Lauderdale County residents have been vaccinated.

Mississippi reported 98 new COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, which is a record number. Dobbs advised people to continue to wear their masks in public and to avoid nonessential social gatherings.

MSDH has reported 5,284 COVID-19 related deaths since March.

Mississippi reported 1,648 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 241,957 cases.

COVID-19 case and death numbers for local counties are listed below.

Clarke County: Ten new cases; 1,332 cases since March. No additional deaths; 60 total deaths since March.

Newton County: 23 new cases; 1,803 total cases. One additional death, which occurred between Oct. 28 and Jan. 8; 42 total deaths since March.

Kemper County: four new cases; 745 total cases. No additional deaths; 19 total deaths since March.

Neshoba County: 29 new cases; 3,250 total cases. One additional death, which occurred between Oct. 28 and Jan. 8; 149 total deaths since March.

MSDH presumed that 198,888 people have recovered from COVID-19. The department also reported that there are 222 ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term-care facilities.

COVID-19 data

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	1981	65	72	15
Alcorn	2531	50	128	19
Amite	944	25	54	7
Attala	1896	55	171	34
Benton	788	22	45	10
Bolivar	3868	102	224	31
Calhoun	1296	19	26	4
Carroll	1016	20	47	9
Chickasaw	1775	42	53	15
Choctaw	582	12	1	0
Claiborne	831	24	45	9
Clarke	1332	60	110	30
Clay	1524	31	24	3
Coahoma	2169	54	128	11
Copiah	2334	47	75	9
Covington	2037	70	135	39
De Soto	16475	161	111	22
Forrest	5755	112	224	48
Franklin	640	13	40	2
George	1929	37	59	7
Greene	1071	29	52	6
Grenada	2116	69	155	32
Hancock	2383	57	69	14
Harrison	12447	185	476	61
Hinds	15559	308	761	111
Holmes	1665	67	103	20
Humphreys	794	24	33	8
Issaquena	154	6	0	0
Itawamba	2525	57	125	22
Jackson	9800	171	215	28
Jasper	1608	32	35	2
Jefferson	512	18	30	4
Jefferson Davis	822	25	8	1
Jones	5999	106	215	41
Kemper	745	19	44	9
Lafayette	4743	91	187	54
Lamar	4628	62	52	13
Lauderdale	5541	174	407	88
Lawrence	979	17	27	2
Leake	2239	64	88	14
Lee	8526	135	214	41
Leflore	2926	104	234	50
Lincoln	2862	83	171	36
Lowndes	5090	102	211	46
Madison	7893	153	351	66
Marion	1991	71	157	23
Marshall	3291	64	64	15
Monroe	3409	100	189	53
Montgomery	1066	34	54	9
Neshoba	3250	149	197	56
Newton	1803	42	86	14
Noxubee	1071	21	34	4
Oktibbeha	3801	79	212	36
Panola	3509	73	102	13
Pearl River	3060	90	158	31
Perry	972	31	21	7
Pike	2499	76	119	34
Pontotoc	3532	50	42	4
Prentiss	2368	47	99	15
Quitman	653	8	0	0
Rankin	10201	195	364	53
Scott	2347	43	39	4
Sharkey	414	17	43	8
Simpson	2272	66	152	19
Smith	1150	22	58	8
Stone	1367	18	83	9
Sunflower	2724	68	111	16
Tallahatchie	1350	33	48	7
Tate	2601	59	80	19
Tippah	2275	45	101	5
Tishomingo	1765	58	101	27
Tunica	831	21	18	2
Union	3295	55	125	19
Walthall	1085	36	67	13
Warren	3279	91	163	37
Washington	4665	121	188	39
Wayne	1904	29	69	11
Webster	882	23	58	11
Wilkinson	563	24	24	5
Winston	1948	59	114	32
Yalobusha	1111	34	82	22
Yazoo	2323	53	139	18
Total	241,957	5,284	9,796	1,791