Teachers, first responders eligible for COVID vaccine

Teachers and first responders can sign up for COVID-19 vaccination appointments after Gov. Tate Reeves opened inoculations to the group last week.
Reeves conferred with State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs before making the decision. He said appointments aren’t being exhausted as they were earlier which indicates there are more availabilities for those wanting to receive their first vaccinations.
Recently the state has begun to see progress in fighting the virus.
Reeves says he believes giving more shots is a key in schools statewide returning to five-days-a-week classroom instruction.
Some states have shut down schools to combat spread of the virus. Mississippi schools are operating with a mix of classroom and virtual instruction.
Locally, school officials say most students have returned to full classroom instruction. They say that many students who chose the virtual route have not done as well grade-wise and some seniors enrolled online are in danger of not graduating because they have not completed course requirements.
The week-long ice storm may have attributed to lower infection rates as people were forced to stay home, but the governor says the state was already experiencing a downward trend in the number of cases.
Last week state officials expected to vaccinate almost 90,000 people, and were looking toward an increase in the supply of the vaccine distributed to Mississippi this week.
In addition, federal officials are expected to give their okay to approve the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It requires only one shot, while the two vaccines now distributed, Pfizer and Moderna, both require two doses.
Reeves said the supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is limited, but once available it will add to the state’s vaccination supply in hopes that eventually the present state of demand for vaccine exceeding supply will be reversed.