MSDH: 50 percent of Lafayette County residents have received one dose of vaccine

Published 12:41 pm Thursday, August 19, 2021

While the Mississippi State Department of Health continues its pleas for Mississippians to get vaccinated to help battle the surge of Delta Variant cases, Lafayette County is doing its part.

After plateauing in the summer months, Lafayette County’s vaccination numbers have begun a steady increase again from mid to late July through the early weeks of August. According to data provided by MSDH, 50 percent of Lafayette County residents have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 44 percent are fully vaccinated. Those numbers were as of 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

The half of Lafayette County’s population (26,826) that has received one does of the vaccine includes the first of two doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines as well as Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine that requires only one dose to be administered.

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Madison County continues to lead the state with 49 percent of its residents fully vaccinated while Yalobusha County currently has 47 percent of its population fully vaccinated. LeFlore County is currently at 46 percent with Lafayette County with the fourth-highest rate of fully vaccinated residents.

On Tuesday, the City of Oxford hosted a pop-up vaccination site next to City Hall. The pop-up site was ran by Webb Family Medical center from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and according to Jimmy Allgood, Oxford’s Emergency Management Director, the site administered 41 doses of the vaccine.

Allgood provided the site’s numbers along with his regular COVID-19 update to the Board of Aldermen during their regular meeting on Tuesday. Those who took advantage of the pop-up site included a wide age range, according to Allgood.

“It was a combination of new vaccinations, second shots and booster shots,” Allgood told the Board. “We had a good mix. We had college students coming in. We had older individuals coming. So, it seemed like we covered the gambit of the community.”

The site will return every Friday of each Ole Miss football home game weekends. Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said they are also working on other potential locations for pop-up sites around Oxford in the coming days and weeks. Other locations Tannehill mentioned were at Larson’s CashSaver and at the Oxford Community Market.

All three vaccines — Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson — will be available at the pop-up site along with doctors on site to help answer any questions along with administering the shots.

“It’s a great opportunity to provide people with a doctor that’s sitting there and answer questions as well,” Tannehill said. “We think that’s as important as the shots that we’re offering.”

The site will also provide COVID-19 test kits for anyone who wants to do a walk-up test, according to Allgood.