All people 50 years and older are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi.

In a Thursday press release, the Mississippi State Department of Health said that 94% of COVID-19 related deaths and 80% of COVID-19 related hospitalizations in Mississippi have been among those 50 years and older.

Some people 50 years or older have already received the vaccine in Mississippi, because they fell into at least one of the groups already eligible for the vaccine.

K-12 school employees, preschool or childcare employees, first responders, health care personnel, people with certain medical conditions and people who are at least 65 years old have been eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the state.

“So far, about 350,000 persons aged 50 years and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the state,” said Dr. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist, in a press release. “We are expanding our eligibility to this age group to increase the access to vaccination in this vulnerable population and prevent hospitalizations and deaths.”

Earlier this week, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that the county mask mandates in Mississippi would be lifted and businesses would be allowed to operate at full capacity starting on Wednesday, March 3. Mayor Percy Bland said, though, that he is keeping the City of Meridian’s mask mandate until it expires at the end of the month, at which time he will review it. 

COVID-19 case and death numbers

Mississippi reported on Friday 591 new cases of the coronavirus and 19 additional COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the state’s totals to 296,745 cases and 6,783 deaths.

Lauderdale County reported nine new cases of COVID-19 and no additional COVID-19 related deaths on Friday, bringing the county’s totals to 6,856 cases and 227 deaths.

Mississippi has been vaccinating its residents. The Mississippi State Department of Health reported on Thursday that 690,874 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Mississippi. 20,252 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to Lauderdale County residents. These numbers include both first and second doses.

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

Clarke County: six new cases; 1,702 total cases since March 2020. One additional death, which occurred between Dec. 12 and Feb. 25 and was identified from death certificate reports; 73 total deaths since March 2020.

Newton County: ten new cases; 2,322 total cases. No additional deaths; 52 total deaths since March 2020.

Kemper County: four new cases; 908 total cases. No additional deaths; 23 total deaths since March 2020.

Neshoba County: 14 new cases; 3,836 total cases. No additional deaths; 170 total deaths since March 2020.

MSDH presumed that 278,162 people in Mississippi had recovered from COVID-19 as of March 1. The department also reported that there are 52 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	2353	78	72	15
Alcorn	2925	63	130	20
Amite	1124	35	55	8
Attala	2068	71	175	36
Benton	940	24	45	10
Bolivar	4626	124	232	31
Calhoun	1586	28	36	4
Carroll	1193	25	51	10
Chickasaw	2017	53	60	15
Choctaw	699	17	1	0
Claiborne	990	29	45	9
Clarke	1702	73	123	31
Clay	1793	51	38	5
Coahoma	2827	69	129	11
Copiah	2797	59	81	11
Covington	2499	80	136	39
De Soto	19774	231	113	24
Forrest	7272	138	226	51
Franklin	764	20	40	4
George	2324	45	59	7
Greene	1281	33	52	6
Grenada	2487	78	155	32
Hancock	3519	78	69	14
Harrison	16850	282	484	65
Hinds	18916	394	805	131
Holmes	1827	70	104	20
Humphreys	931	28	34	8
Issaquena	167	6	0	0
Itawamba	2905	75	134	23
Jackson	12700	230	238	34
Jasper	2139	45	43	2
Jefferson	628	27	40	7
Jefferson Davis	1027	31	8	1
Jones	8017	148	219	41
Kemper	908	23	44	9
Lafayette	5761	114	187	55
Lamar	5920	81	53	13
Lauderdale	6856	227	442	99
Lawrence	1208	21	27	2
Leake	2535	72	88	15
Lee	9711	162	222	41
Leflore	3394	120	237	52
Lincoln	3590	104	186	39
Lowndes	6051	140	256	62
Madison	9499	204	365	69
Marion	2528	78	158	24
Marshall	4051	92	64	15
Monroe	3994	128	190	55
Montgomery	1231	40	54	9
Neshoba	3836	170	203	59
Newton	2322	52	87	15
Noxubee	1233	31	35	6
Oktibbeha	4426	94	222	36
Panola	4331	98	103	14
Pearl River	4205	132	188	36
Perry	1227	35	21	7
Pike	3019	96	133	35
Pontotoc	4110	71	86	12
Prentiss	2712	58	99	15
Quitman	774	14	0	0
Rankin	12823	265	392	61
Scott	2957	71	115	18
Sharkey	492	17	43	8
Simpson	2771	80	157	20
Smith	1536	33	65	8
Stone	1731	29	84	14
Sunflower	3197	86	121	20
Tallahatchie	1717	39	50	7
Tate	3035	74	80	19
Tippah	2800	65	119	13
Tishomingo	2130	65	102	27
Tunica	996	24	18	2
Union	3966	74	131	23
Walthall	1248	40	69	13
Warren	4143	115	170	37
Washington	5229	130	191	39
Wayne	2548	41	69	11
Webster	1111	32	61	12
Wilkinson	625	27	25	5
Winston	2221	79	130	39
Yalobusha	1456	36	82	22
Yazoo	2914	66	139	18
Total	296,745	6,783	10,395	1,955