AP Photo/Rogelio V. SolisState health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs explains how a person might react to a COVID-19 vaccination, right, during Gov. Tate Reeves' covid news briefing on Dec. 9 in Jackson.

The state health officer said on Thursday that many Mississippians are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, but the state only receives a limited supply of vaccine from the federal government each week.

“We’ll need to be patient, but also diligent, to make sure that we protect the vulnerable people in Mississippi as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state health officer, at a press briefing.

He noted that about 1.3 to 1.4 million people in Mississippi qualify for vaccination, but the state only receives about 37,000 first doses of the vaccine a week. The state is also receiving second doses, Dobbs said.

Those who qualify for COVID-19 vaccination in Mississippi include health care workers, long-term care facility residents and staff, people at least 65 years old and people with certain medical conditions.

Many of the state’s vaccines are being distributed at drive-thru vaccination sites, but some vaccines are being given out by hospitals, private clinics and other locations.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported on Thursday that 152,374 people in the state had been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Dr. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist, said Mississippi is perhaps seeing a small downward trend in the number of COVID-19 cases.

“Although it’s too early to say if that’s really going to be a long-term trend,” he said at the press briefing.

The state is also seeing a decrease in the number of hospital patients who are confirmed to have COVID-19.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported on Thursday 2,290 new cases of the coronavirus and 30 new COVID-19 related deaths in the state, bringing the state’s totals to 259,117 cases and 5,668 deaths.

Mississippi’s seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,896.

In Lauderdale County, 69 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, bringing the county’s total to 6,034 cases. The county’s seven-day rolling average of new cases is 52.

Lauderdale County reported two new deaths, which occurred between Jan. 8 and 20. The county has reported a total of 189 COVID-19 related deaths since March.

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

Clarke County: 18 new cases; 1,435 total cases since March. No new deaths; 62 total deaths since March.

Newton County: seven new cases; 1,957 total cases. One new death, which was identified from death certificate reports and occurred between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15; 45 total deaths since March.

Kemper County: seven new cases; 791 total cases. No new deaths; 20 total deaths since March.

Neshoba County: 20 new cases; 3,433 total cases. No new deaths; 152 total deaths since March.

MSDH presumed that 207,769 people had recovered from COVID-19 as of Jan. 17. The department also reported that there are 221 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	2101	70	72	15
Alcorn	2688	54	128	20
Amite	999	26	54	7
Attala	1957	61	173	36
Benton	840	23	45	10
Bolivar	4068	109	225	31
Calhoun	1380	21	28	4
Carroll	1059	22	47	9
Chickasaw	1861	44	53	15
Choctaw	623	13	1	0
Claiborne	868	25	45	9
Clarke	1435	62	111	30
Clay	1627	35	24	3
Coahoma	2436	54	129	11
Copiah	2445	49 *	76	9
Covington	2169	72	136	39
De Soto	17436	187	113	24
Forrest	6101	121	224	50
Franklin	687	16	40	4
George	2027	39	59	7
Greene	1121	29	52	6
Grenada	2211	71	154	32
Hancock	2853	60	69	14
Harrison	13876	199	480	65
Hinds	16524	328	786	118
Holmes	1698	68	103	20
Humphreys	836	24	33	8
Issaquena	160	6	0	0
Itawamba	2662	61	125	22
Jackson	10652	187	217	30
Jasper	1760	38	36	2
Jefferson	559	20	39	4
Jefferson Davis	873	27	8	1
Jones	6552	112	217	41
Kemper	791	20	44	9
Lafayette	5073	93	188	54
Lamar	4964	65	52	13
Lauderdale	6034	189	426	94
Lawrence	1043	17	27	2
Leake	2343	67	89	14
Lee	8981	141	214	41
Leflore	3079	108	234	52
Lincoln	3006	87	173	37
Lowndes	5463	119	253	56
Madison	8413	168	359	69
Marion	2184	73	158	24
Marshall	3495	69	64	15
Monroe	3628	105	189	54
Montgomery	1109	36	54	9
Neshoba	3433	152	196	56
Newton	1957	45	86	15
Noxubee	1114	25	34	6
Oktibbeha	4016	81	215	36
Panola	3783	80	102	13
Pearl River	3380	104	158	33
Perry	1032	31	21	7
Pike	2665	80	125	34
Pontotoc	3721	55	64	6
Prentiss	2495	52	99	15
Quitman	702	9	0	0
Rankin	11000	217	388	60
Scott	2534	48	56	4
Sharkey	442	17	43	8
Simpson	2400	69	157	19
Smith	1258	25	60	8
Stone	1484	24 *	84	13
Sunflower	2892	72	116	17
Tallahatchie	1549	35	49	7
Tate	2767	62	80	19
Tippah	2458	50	108	7
Tishomingo	1924	61	102	27
Tunica	876	21	18	2
Union	3505	63	125	21
Walthall	1134	37	68	13
Warren	3619	101	168	38
Washington	4877	124	188	39
Wayne	2064	32	69	11
Webster	943	24	58	11
Wilkinson	588	25	24	5
Winston	2052	67	114	35
Yalobusha	1202	34	82	22
Yazoo	2501	56	139	18
Total	259,117	5,668	10,022	1,864