State health officials are strongly encouraging all Mississippians to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Now is the time for you to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state health officer, at a press briefing on Tuesday. “It’s time for you to get your kids vaccinated — if they’re 16 and older — your neighbors, your parents, your aunts and uncles.”

On Tuesday, all people who are 16 years or older and who live or work in Mississippi became eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. Dobbs said now is “the right time” for the opening up of eligibility in the state. 

Dobbs expects that vaccine supply is going to expand. He wants to ensure that there is enough demand for the vaccine when the supply increases.  

“We don’t want to waste a week of a vaccine sitting on a shelf when it can be inside somebody, preventing transmission and keeping them out of the hospital,” Dobbs said. 

To book an appointment at a Mississippi State Department of Health drive-thru vaccination site, visit covidvaccine.umc.edu or call 877-978-6453. 16- or 17-year-olds cannot make an appointment on the website — they have to call the phone number. 

Dr. Victor D. Sutton, the director of MSDH’s Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity, announced at the news briefing that a new program will help make vaccine available to vulnerable populations. Churches, community organizations and other community entities will be able to host vaccination events. They would need to call (877) 978-6453 and press 2 to host an event. 

MSDH reported on Tuesday that 592,500 people had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi. 16,563 Lauderdale County residents had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday morning.

COVID-19 case and death numbers

Mississippi reported 352 new cases of the coronavirus and seven additional COVID-19 related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the state’s totals to 301,602 cases and 6,936 deaths.

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

Lauderdale County: no new cases; 6,946 total cases since March 2020. No additional deaths; 231 total deaths since March 2020.

Clarke County: no new cases; 1,723 total cases. No additional deaths; 75 total deaths since March 2020.

Neshoba County: one new case; 3,909 total cases. No additional deaths; 172 total deaths since March 2020.

Newton County: seven new cases; 2,380 total cases. No additional deaths; 54 total deaths since March 2020.

Kemper County: two new cases; 930 total cases. No additional deaths; 25 total deaths since March 2020. 

MSDH presumed that 287,341 people in Mississippi had recovered from COVID-19 as of March 15. The department also reported that there are 43 ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term-care facilities.