This month, the University of Southern Mississippi Faculty Senate called for IHL to reverse its policy prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the state’s universities and colleges, pointing to accreditation standards requiring that institutions “take reasonable steps to provide a healthy, safe, and secure environment for all members of the campus community.”
In the U.S., polling on intent to get vaccinated shows a massive political divide. Counties that went for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election show higher vaccination rates than counties that went for Donald Trump. Attendees at the Conservative Political Action Committee’s summer meeting cheered the fact that the U.S. didn’t meet Biden’s July 4 vaccination goals for the country.
The state board that oversees higher education in Mississippi voted today to prohibit all public colleges and universities from requiring COVID-19 vaccines as a condition of employment or enrollment. The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees made the decision following weeks of confusion over a previous vote in August.
Mississippi State University is unlikely to implement a campus-wide vaccine mandate even after a majority of the institution’s Faculty Senate called on leaders to do so in a resolution they adopted during a meeting on Friday.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is not relenting in his opposition to issuing an order mandating masks in all public schools statewide even though a 13-year-old girl died of COVID-19 after starting eighth grade in a mask-optional school district.
Hattiesburg residents could win one of six $2,500 cash prizes for getting vaccinated for COVID-19 before Aug. 8.
Two weeks after a temporary, nationwide halt on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the Mississippi State Department of Health is encouraging health-care providers to continue delivering the single-shot vaccine, with an advisory for women under 50 to consider using Pfizer or Moderna’s formulation.
Racial and ethnic minority communities that lack internet access have been left behind in the race to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The average monthly cost of internet access, about US$70, can be out of reach for those who can barely afford groceries.
In 2020, Mississippi recorded the highest mortality rate since 1918—when the Great Influenza swept the state, killing thousands.
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