The two new drive-thru vaccination sites will be located in the cities of Vicksburg and Monticello, as the state continues to expand coronavirus vaccine availability. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says health equity is important for reaching underserved communities and says the state is constantly working to determine where doses need to be sent.
“We did start off with trying to balance off vaccine based on population. We are looking at metrics based on age and other factors by region, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a drive-thru site, right? It may well be partners," says Dr. Dobs.
Partners in the vaccine rollout include hospitals and local clinics that are vaccinating qualifying members of the public. Jim Craig, Senior Deputy at the Department of Health, says these partners have a trusted connection with their communities and are improving their vaccination rates. He says some counties are also expressing interest in creating locally operated drive-thru sites.
"There’s been different strategies, I’ve been to about six or seven counties in the last two weeks that are looking at drive-thru locations, and each of them have some unique challenges that they’re working through," says Craig. "It’s not really simple to set up a drive-thru operation, and we don’t know whether there will be enough vaccine to support a very robust operation in many counties.”
Health officials say the state is expected to get 6,000 additional doses of the vaccine this week from the federal government, and they say over one-third of Mississippians age 75 and older have gotten the shot.
