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.
Omicron continues its march across the nation, promising another winter of high transmission of COVID-19. But further ahead in 2022, more robust treatments for the virus are rekindling hopes that the world may have better tools to fight the pandemic soon.
Laboratory studies of the omicron variant of COVID-19 from multiple sources reveal a dramatic decrease in neutralizing activity from prior infection with earlier variants and the available vaccines. The results provide a challenging prospect for the future of the pandemic if the variant becomes dominant, and strongly encourage a booster dose for all adults, regardless of health conditions.
The Mississippi State Department of Health has detected the first case of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Mississippi. Health officials discovered the variant in a fully vaccinated individual who returned to Mississippi from New York, where earlier cases of the variant have been reported, but MSDH could not confirm where the infected individual acquired the virus.
The potential of immune evasive properties of omicron, Dr. Eric Topol says, are why it is “vital that everyone with an acquired infection of COVID gets additional protection with at least one shot, if not two.”
“COVID hospitalization on the rise and most older Mississippians un-boosted,” State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs wrote on Tuesday. “Booster doses (are) especially important for Mississippians 65+ or with any medical condition.”
The delta wave of COVID-19 continues to recede in Mississippi, with average case numbers dropping day after day since the late August peak. Today, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced 2,070 new reports of COVID-19, bringing the rolling seven-day average down to 1,633.
State health officials are warning of the growing Delta variant of COVID-19, a strain of the virus experts have identified as significantly more infectious and potentially more lethal than wild-type coronavirus.
Despite a growing concern about the COVID-19 vaccine, especially among Black women, the consensus still remains that the risks associated with contracting the COVID-19 virus far outweigh the risks of taking a vaccine.
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.
125 S. Congress Street #1324
Jackson, MS 39201
info@mississippifreepress.org
tips@mississippifreepress.org
events@mississippifreepress.org
601-362-6121
The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).
