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COVID-19 is still continuing a sharp decline in Mississippi, but the state continues to under-use the available supply of oral antivirals, meaning that even more preventable death—especially in unvaccinated individuals—is occurring.
The omicron surge has likely passed its tipping point in Mississippi, declining on a quick trajectory comparable to delta’s sudden fall. New cases have fallen sharply this week, but surveillance in the state’s hospital system is a more valuable sign of decreasing transmission.Â
Editor Donna Ladd writes: “We do this cause/solution-driven journalism to serve our communities, our people and to actually help move needles in our state. We are here to celebrate local efforts and to expose inadequacies that make conditions worse for traditionally marginalized Mississippians. But we are also fans of challenging the narratives of our state outside the state lines.”
Damion Portis is a barber who participates in the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Shots at the Shop program, educating his clients on the importance of the vaccine. After months of low Black vaccine uptake, Mississippi has broken through an enormous barrier of vaccine disparity.
Pfizer and BioNTech have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve their COVID-19 vaccine for use in children ages 5 to 11, Pfizer announced this morning. If the FDA approves an emergency use authorization, it would be the first time a COVID-19 vaccine was available for children younger than 12.
In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly 15% of Mississippians hospitalized with COVID-19 died, a rate that places Mississippi above the national mortality rate in every period after the initial outbreak in the northeastern United States.
Mississippi has now surpassed the state of New York, the nation’s original pandemic hotspot, in total COVID-19 deaths per 100,000. The only state where the pandemic has proven deadlier than the Magnolia State is New Jersey.
Mississippi’s delta surge has reached a steady sprint, with the state’s seven-day curve arriving at a harsh holding pattern miles above its previous average. The Mississippi State Department of Health announced 4,041 cases today.
Hours after the worst report of new COVID-19 cases in the pandemic thus far, Gov. Tate Reeves gave Mississippi a full-throated endorsement of vaccinations—but offered inconsistent and hostile messaging on the subject of masks.Â
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
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The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).