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‘It’s a great day’: Mississippi raises new state flag after 126 years

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Mississippi’s new state flag flies for the first time at the Capitol after Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill on Monday ratifying the newly adopted state flag at the Two Mississippi Museums. Credit: Vickie King, Mississippi Today

A new state flag was raised over the Mississippi State Capitol on Monday to replace the old flag, which flew for 126 years and featured the divisive Confederate battle emblem.

Flags were raised on the Capitol grounds and over the domes of both the House and Senate in a Monday afternoon ceremony.

House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who this past summer steered passage of historic legislation to retire the old flag and to place a new flag on the November ballot, presided over the flag-raising ceremony.

Before the new flag was raised over the Capitol, where it flapped proudly thanks to the cold northwesterly wind, Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill into law making the banner approved by voters in November the official flag of the state.

Reeves called it “a historic day, one we all can be proud of.” He cited the past year as one filled with isolation and divisive rhetoric, but that “we are one nation under God,” united in “friendship, trust and joy.” He said the new flag would represent those items that bound the state together.

He said for many the old flag represented history and heritage, but saw the old flag as representing “divisiveness, dismissiveness and even hate. That is not a firm foundation for our state.”

As lawmakers worked during the 2020 session to retire the old flag, Reeves opposed that effort. He maintained that voters, not lawmakers, should decide whether to retire the old flag. Still, Reeves reluctantly signed the bill into law last summer, retiring the flag and putting on a ballot a new flag for voters to approve or reject.

More than 70% of voters approved the new flag in November 2020, and the Legislature ratified that vote last week. Reeves signed the legislation into law in the auditorium of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, flanked by the commission that selected the new flag design.

Gunn, who for years was the most prominent Republican leader to publicly advocate for changing the state flag, told stories on Monday of state lawmakers who had been against change this summer – up until just days before the Legislature voted – but who had changes of heart.

“It was their families,” Gunn said of what changed their minds. “It was knowing that history was going to record what they did, and they did not want their spouses and children and grandchildren to be disappointed. They wanted future generations of this state to be proud of what they did.”

“Now we turn the page on this new chapter in our state’s history,” Gunn continued. “It is blank. It has yet to be written. What will it say? What will the history of this new flag be? What will it stand for? That is going to be determined by you, the citizens of the state of Mississippi.

“… It can represent a place of hospitality, a place of goodwill toward all men, a place of sacrificial service to our fellow man, or it can not. It can represent a place where we love our neighbors as ourselves, or it can not … It can represent a place where in God we trust, or it can not. We will determine what is written … Yes, in God we trust, and may he bless the great state of Mississippi.”

Hosemann, who publicly advocated for a change in the flag after House leaders initiated the process this summer, also spoke at the ceremony on Monday.

“Over 900,000 Mississippians voted for this flag to represent the state of Mississippi,” Hosemann said. “It will provide a shade of history and community for our citizens. It will provide nourishment to the roots of our society. It will inspire children for hopefully generations to come, and it will give us a sense of place. We will learn together under this flag. We will work together under this flag, and we will worship together under this emblem.”

State Sen. David Jordan of Greenwood, a longtime legislator and civil rights leader, watched the ceremony and the new flags being hoisted above the state Capitol and remarked to a colleague, “It’s a good day. It’s a beacon of hope for Mississippi.”

Sharon Brown, a resident of Jackson, braved the frigid weather Monday to witness the flag raising ceremony at the Capitol. Brown in 2015 led an unsuccessful push for a voter referendum to remove the old flag and prohibit any reference to the Confederacy being on the state’s flag.

“We have constantly been in the fight since then,” Brown said. “I knew change would come.”

Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who worked unsuccessfully in the early 2000s to change the flag, attended the bill signing and raising of the new flag.

When asked if he believed he would ever see the change, he said, “I was certainly hopeful it would be in my lifetime.”

He praised the new flag design as having “emblems and designs everyone can support… It is a great day.”

The post ‘It’s a great day’: Mississippi raises new state flag after 126 years appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Marshall Ramsey: A New Day

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On April 17, 2001, Mississippi voted on replacing its state flag. The debate, as most things in Mississippi do, became an emotional one. I remember that day because of the hate-filled phone calls I had received (I was for changing it). At 5:30, my doctor called and said, “You have cancer.”

I laughed.

He paused and then asked, “Why are you laughing?”

I said, “This is the nicest call I’ve had all day.”

When I was wheeled into surgery a couple of days later, I wondered if I’d survive. I just didn’t think I’d ever see the flag changed. Nearly 20 years later, I have both survived and seen that change.

We have come a long way since 2001 and in many ways are still in the same place. But we now have a banner we can all sit together under. And be proud of our great state together.

The post Marshall Ramsey: A New Day appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In women’s hoops, we suddenly have a real Mississippi rivalry

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Don’t look now, but we suddenly have a competitive Ole Miss-Mississippi State women’s basketball rivalry. At last.

They’ve been playing one another for 45 years now, ever since Title IX compelled colleges and universities – most reluctantly – to field women’s basketball teams. The Ole Miss-State rivalry just never has been really competitive. One or the other has dominated. That appears to have changed, what with 14th ranked Mississippi State’s hard-earned 60-56 victory over Ole Miss on the Bulldogs’ home floor Sunday. The Lady Rebels had two chances to tie the score in the final 90 seconds.

“That is what a rivalry game should look like,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said afterward.

In women’s basketball, Ole Miss-Mississippi State has rarely, if ever, looked like this before.

Mississippi State, 8-2, now has won the last 14 meetings, most by decisive margins. Ole Miss, which dropped to 7-2, has not defeated State since Jan. 25, 2014 – and even then the Rebels needed an overtime to achieve it.

Before Sunday, State had won the previous eight meetings by an average of nearly 20 points per.

If that sounds one-sided, you’ve heard nothing yet. Of the first 51 times the two teams played, Ole Miss won 50. That’s right, the Lady Rebels were 50-1. Rivalry? More like complete and utter dominance.

Van Chancellor raves about Nikki McCray-Penson. Credit: Rick Cleveland

Interestingly, Van Chancellor, the architect of most of that Ole Miss dominance, is a proud graduate of Mississippi State. He won 37 of 38 games against his alma mater while at Ole Miss

Chancellor, a Naismith Hall of Famer, lives in Texas now, but he watched Sunday’s game with keen interest. “I went to one school, coached for a long time at the other. You bet I’m interested,” Chancellor said in a Monday phone conversation.

His take on Sunday’s game?

“Ole Miss has made unbelievable improvement from last season to this,” Chancellor said. “They are so much more talented. Coach Yo finally has her players playing her way. Now, it’s a matter of learning how to win, and that sometimes is the hardest part. They are good enough to be in every game. Now they have to learn how to win.”

Chancellor will get no argument from State coach Nikki McRay-Penson about the vast improvement at Ole Miss. “They are better in all aspects,” McRay-Penson said postgame. “Coach Yo has done a great job of recruiting talented players.”

And here’s the deal: One of those highly recruited and talented players, 6-foot-5 Shakira Austin, a Maryland transfer, was in foul trouble for much of the game, missed 15 minutes of playing time and scored only six points. Another, Madison Scott, a freshman and the first McDonald’s All American in Ole Miss history, did not play.

Nevertheless, Ole Miss was able to claw back from 12 behind and take the game into the final seconds. Donnetta Johnson, a sophomore transfer from Georgia, was outstanding in defeat, leading both teams in scoring with 23 points. Valerie Nesbit, displaying much grit, added 18.

Junior Jessika Carter led the way for State with 19 points and nine rebounds, and the Bulldogs got a huge boost off the bench from Aliyah Matharu, who scored 16 points in 27 minutes, including four 3-pointers. The Bulldogs won despite a rare off-night from talented Rickea Jackson, who scored just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting. The Bulldogs, as a team, shot just 38 percent.

McRay-Penson used the word “ugly” to describe the victory. She said her team lacked energy.

Part of that came from Ole Miss’s dogged defense. In fact, both teams played hard and well defensively. That brand of defense bodes well for both teams.

“I think both teams are headed in the right direction,” Chancellor said. “Both are well-coached. Both play hard. Both have a lot of talented players. There’s no doubt in my mind this rivalry is about to go to a different level. It’s great for women’s basketball in the state of Mississippi. Think about what the crowds are going to be like for these games when we finally get through this pandemic.

“I told Coach Yo one thing when she got the job. I told her you have to find a way to beat Mississippi State. That’s just the way it is in Mississippi. You have to win your share against the other school.”

The Lady Rebels get their next chance at State on Valentine’s Day at The Pavilion in Oxford.

The post In women’s hoops, we suddenly have a real Mississippi rivalry appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Podcast: Senate Democratic leader talks 2021 legislative session, assault on U.S. Capitol

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In interview with Mississippi Today’s Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison, state Sen. Derrick Simmons of Greenville, the chamber’s Democratic leader, praises bipartisan spirit in state Capitol, though he said differences still exist. Simmons also questions whether rioters at U.S. Capitol would have been handled differently had they been African American.

Listen here:

The post Podcast: Senate Democratic leader talks 2021 legislative session, assault on U.S. Capitol appeared first on Mississippi Today.

54: Episode 54: Life Do-Over Part One

*Warning: Explicit language and content*

In episode 54, We discuss supposed cases of reincarnation. (This is part one.)

All Cats is part of the Truthseekers Podcast Network.

Host: April Simmons

Co-Host: Sabrina Jones

Theme + Editing by April Simmons

Contact us at allcatspod@gmail.com

Call us at 662-200-1909

https://linktr.ee/allcats – ALL our links

Shoutouts/Recommends: Root of Evil podcast, The Lady Vanishes podcast, Soul movie, Point Salad game.

Credits:

https://www.rd.com/article/chilling-reincarnation-stories/

https://www.rd.com/list/signs-of-past-life/

https://www.ranker.com/list/believable-reincarnation-stories/erin-wisti

https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/james-leininger

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2015/10/21/25-percent-us-christians-believe-reincarnation-whats-wrong-picture

https://www.reddit.com/r/thatHappened/comments/6lt7yt/little_brother_recalls_past_life_on_the_titanic/

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/april-simmons/support

COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 2,214 new cases

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COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 2,214 new cases

By Mississippi Today | January 10, 2021

This page was last updated Sunday, January 10:

New cases: 2,214| New Deaths: 22

Total Hospitalizations: 1,460


Total cases:239,082 | Total Deaths: 5,167

Mask Mandates | On Sept. 30, Gov. Tate Reeves ended the statewide mask mandate order, originally issued Aug. 4. Since then, he has added a total of 78 individual county mask mandates, covering half of the state. State health officials encourage widespread masking and credit the original mandate with helping cases improve after a steep summer spike. View the full list of COVID-19 orders here.

All data and information reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health as of 6 p.m. yesterday


Weekly update: Wednesday, December 16

By Alex Rozier

On Tuesday Mississippi hit a new record with the seven-day average for cases, reaching 2,196. After going nine months without reporting 2,000 cases in a day, the state has reached that point nine times in just the 16 days of December so far. 

On Dec. 9, Mississippi also hit a new high for total hospitalizations on the rolling average, surpassing the summer peak. The state had already reached a new high for confirmed hospitalizations at the end of November, but hadn’t yet for the total tally, which includes suspected cases as well.

As seen in MSDH’s illness onset chart, the record for most illnesses in a day — Dec. 11, with 2,442 — is within the last two-week period, meaning those numbers could still go up.  

Mississippi’s present rise in cases mirrors the national surge, as the state currently has the 26th most new cases per capita. According to the Harvard Global Health Institute tracker, every state except Vermont is now in the “red zone” (recording over 25 daily new cases per 100,000 people). 

The health department reports that 148,466 people are presumed covered as of Dec. 13.


Click through the links below to view our interactive charts describing the trends around the coronavirus in Mississippi:

View our COVID-19 resource page for more information about coronavirus in Mississippi.

The post COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 2,214 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Four Mississippi congressional delegates say they know better than judges, state officials

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Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith waves to drivers as she holds a campaign sign in Jackson on Nov. 6, 2018.

Four of the six members of Mississippi’s congressional delegation, by their votes this past week, were trying to usurp the authority of state and local officials and the courts to conduct and oversee elections.

The four — U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Reps. Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Steven Palazzo — said they know better than the state and local officials and better than the judiciary, including better than the U.S. Supreme Court, how elections for president should be conducted.

Their disregard for the U.S. court system is notable since Hyde-Smith and others campaigned for re-election last year on how great it was that the judiciary had been populated by appointees of President Donald Trump, including three of his appointees to the Supreme Court. Now that it comes to the issue of the presidential election, they are ignoring the rulings of those judges.

During a chaotic and dramatic Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning at the nation’s Capitol, a group of minority Republican lawmakers, including the four Mississippians, challenged the presidential election results from Arizona and Pennsylvania. The original plan was to challenge the results in other states — all lost by President Donald Trump — but the challengers apparently got cold feet after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol that day, causing widespread destruction and death and temporarily halting what is normally a ceremonial event of accepting the election results from the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

There are two other members of Mississippi’s congressional delegation: Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Bennie Thompson. Like other congressional Democrats, Thompson voted to accept the state results that gave the presidential and vice presidential elections to Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Wicker, the state’s senior senator, said he was disappointed with the outcome of the election but could not substitute his judgment in overseeing elections for that of state and local officials and of the judiciary.

“Congress cannot — and should not — get into the business of deciding the results of our elections,” Wicker, a Tupelo resident, said in a statement. “Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting electoral votes duly submitted by the states. Anything further would not be compatible with our Constitution or the conservative principles of limited government that I have sworn to defend.

“I also fear any attempt by Congress to overturn state election results would empower national Democrats to hasten the end of the Electoral College, which preserves a voice for smaller states like Mississippi in our national elections. Without the Electoral College, large, liberal states like New York and California would likely determine the direction of our republic to its detriment.”

In a statement, Guest said he voted to challenge the electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania because of changes to the election process in those states that were not approved by their legislatures.

“The United States Constitution gives state legislatures the exclusive jurisdiction to determine how elections will be conducted, commonly referred to as the Electors Clause. Simply put, these states failed to conduct elections that followed the requirements set up by their state legislatures and outlined in our Constitution,” Guest said.

Those issues highlighted by Guest had been brought before the judiciary in literally dozens of lawsuits and rejected.

If Guest and the other challengers had prevailed, the votes of literally millions of Americans would have been thrown out. For instance, one of the issues cited by the objectors that affected the most voters occurred in Pennsylvania where the Republican-controlled Legislature in October 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit approved a bill to allow no excuse mail-in voting.

After the election was completed in November and it became clear President Trump had lost, his supporters filed a lawsuit saying the ballots of those Pennsylvanians who voted early by mail should be discarded because a change in the state Constitution was needed to enact early voting by mail.

That was not the opinion of Republican Pennsylvania legislators at the time they approved the bill, and it was not the opinion of the judiciary. And a question that should be considered: Would it have been fair to throw out the ballots of 2.5 million Pennsylvanians who voted in good faith through a system their elected officials offered to them?

Guest, Kelly and Wicker are all attorneys. With all due respect to Wicker, Kelly and Guest have more recent courtroom experience. Until their relatively recent elections to the U.S. House, they both served as district attorneys — Kelly in northeast Mississippi and Guest in central Mississippi.

As DAs, they routinely argued before members of the judiciary and accepted their decision as final at some point in the process

Perhaps they were tired of doing that and saw the presidential election as an opportunity to ignore the rulings of judges.

The post Four Mississippi congressional delegates say they know better than judges, state officials appeared first on Mississippi Today.

COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 3,203 new cases

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COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 3,203 new cases

By Mississippi Today | January 9, 2021

This page was last updated Saturday, January 9:

New cases: 3,203| New Deaths: 46

Total Hospitalizations: 1,460


Total cases:236,868 | Total Deaths: 5,146

Mask Mandates | On Sept. 30, Gov. Tate Reeves ended the statewide mask mandate order, originally issued Aug. 4. Since then, he has added a total of 78 individual county mask mandates, covering half of the state. State health officials encourage widespread masking and credit the original mandate with helping cases improve after a steep summer spike. View the full list of COVID-19 orders here.

All data and information reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health as of 6 p.m. yesterday


Weekly update: Wednesday, December 16

By Alex Rozier

On Tuesday Mississippi hit a new record with the seven-day average for cases, reaching 2,196. After going nine months without reporting 2,000 cases in a day, the state has reached that point nine times in just the 16 days of December so far. 

On Dec. 9, Mississippi also hit a new high for total hospitalizations on the rolling average, surpassing the summer peak. The state had already reached a new high for confirmed hospitalizations at the end of November, but hadn’t yet for the total tally, which includes suspected cases as well.

As seen in MSDH’s illness onset chart, the record for most illnesses in a day — Dec. 11, with 2,442 — is within the last two-week period, meaning those numbers could still go up.  

Mississippi’s present rise in cases mirrors the national surge, as the state currently has the 26th most new cases per capita. According to the Harvard Global Health Institute tracker, every state except Vermont is now in the “red zone” (recording over 25 daily new cases per 100,000 people). 

The health department reports that 148,466 people are presumed covered as of Dec. 13.


Click through the links below to view our interactive charts describing the trends around the coronavirus in Mississippi:

View our COVID-19 resource page for more information about coronavirus in Mississippi.

The post COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 3,203 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines in Mississippi

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Where can you get the COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi? When will you be eligible? We answered several key COVID-19 vaccine questions. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, Pool)

We, like you, have many questions about the COVID-19 vaccination process in Mississippi. 

We’ve asked the state’s top healthcare officials key questions and compiled information from the Mississippi State Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Below, you can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve heard.

We realize your questions may not be listed or addressed here. If you have questions that aren’t answered, please email us at tips@mississippitoday.org, and we’ll do our best to get them answered.

You should also visit the health department’s vaccine page for basic information. The state health department also has a hotline you can call to ask questions about the vaccine process.  That number is 1-877-978-6453.

Am I eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?

Mississippi is administering vaccinations in phases. As of Jan. 9, the state is currently in the first phase (Phase 1a), which gives priority to paid and unpaid healthcare workers and long-term care residents and Mississippians age 75 or older. According to the MSDH, healthcare workers are defined as “nurses, physicians, emergency medical services, technicians, pharmacists, dietary and food staff, environmental services staff and others.”

The next phase, Phase 1b.1, includes first responders, educators, childcare workers, and workers in congregate settings (places like jails, halfway homes and any other facility where people live) workers. Officials said they expect Mississippians aged 65 and older will soon be eligible to receive the vaccine.

I’m not qualified for the current phases, but when might I become eligible?

State health officials said Mississippians aged 65 and older will likely be granted access to the vaccine the week of Jan. 18.

Health officials do not know when, exactly, the next phases of vaccine distribution will officially begin. The dates listed in the chart above are just estimates that health officials shared. The timing of phases depends on how many doses the state receives from the federal government, and how many people qualified for the early phases choose to receive the vaccine. Officials also warned that the greater public may not have access to the vaccines for several weeks or months.

Where can I get vaccinated?

Several hospital systems and other healthcare providers have begun vaccinating patients. 

The Mississippi State Department of Health, which is managing the state’s vaccine distribution, has partnered with the University of Mississippi Medical Center and opened 18 drive-thru vaccination sites. If you are qualified to receive the vaccine, you may schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine through the MSDH/UMMC partnership at this link. You can also call the state’s COVID-19 hotline to schedule an appointment at 1-877-978-6453.

Other healthcare providers and other hospital systems are offering their own vaccine distribution options, separate from the MSDH/UMMC partnership. Click here to see the full list, as of Jan. 8, that shows other healthcare providers that are providing the vaccines to Mississippians. Phone numbers of these providers are listed on this link, and many of the providers have COVID-19 vaccine websites where you can find more information.

Is it safe for me to take a COVID-19 vaccine?

Numerous studies for both of the currently available vaccines have been conducted by the world’s leading health experts over the last several months, and MSDH epidemiologists have studied that data. COVID-19 vaccines have been subjected to the same rigorous process for evaluating safety and effectiveness as any other vaccine approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The state’s top health officials were the first Mississippians to become inoculated, and they did it in front of television cameras to assure the public that the vaccine is safe. Top elected officials of both major parties and all backgrounds, including Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, have publicly urged Mississippians to get vaccinated.

As with any vaccine, there can be some side effects. Generally speaking, data from thorough clinical trials demonstrate that “the known and potential benefits of this vaccine outweigh the known and potential harms of becoming infected with COVID-19,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More safety information about the vaccines can be found here.

How many vaccine doses does Mississippi have, and how many people have received the vaccine?

As of Jan. 8, the state has received 214,600 vaccine doses and administered 41,541. Across the state, 1,029 people have already received both doses of the vaccine.

Healthcare providers are asked to submit records of vaccination to the state department of health within 72 hours of administration. Top health officials said that process likely means the true number of administered vaccines is delayed.

You can check the MSDH website for near daily updates.

How are vaccines distributed?

The federal government oversees a centralized system to order, distribute, and track COVID-19 vaccines. All vaccines are ordered through the CDC. Vaccine providers will receive vaccines from CDC’s centralized distributor or directly from a vaccine manufacturer.

The Mississippi State Department of Health is working with the CDC to manage the vaccine distribution process, sending vaccine to private providers and hospitals throughout the state.

Separately, the federal government is working directly with CVS and Walgreens to get vaccines to long-term care facilities like nursing homes.

Is the vaccine free?

It depends on where you receive it. Some vaccination providers like the University of Mississippi Medical Center, in partnership with the Mississippi State Department of Health, are offering the vaccines free of charge.

However, vaccination providers can choose to charge an administration fee for giving the shot to someone. Vaccine providers can get this fee reimbursed by the patient’s public or private insurance company or, for uninsured patients, by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Provider Relief Fund.

Which vaccines are available in Mississippi?

The Mississippi Department of Health is using both the Moderna and Pfizer BioNtech vaccines. Both vaccines require two doses. People 16 and up can receive the Pfizer vaccine, and those 18 and up can receive the Moderna vaccine.

Do I need both doses for the vaccine to be fully effective?

Yes. The Moderna vaccine requires the second shot to be administered 28 days after the first dose, and the Pfizer vaccine requires a second dose 21 days later. These two types of vaccines are not interchangeable; you must receive the same kind in your second dose as you did for your first.

I’m a caregiver for someone who is currently eligible to receive the vaccine, but I don’t seem to be eligible right now. Can I receive a vaccine?

No, not at this time. The only way a Mississippian can currently receive a vaccine is if they are a healthcare worker or they are 75 years and older.

A person caring for their own relative at home would not be considered a healthcare worker since they are not a healthcare professional, it is not in a healthcare/medical capacity, and it is not in a healthcare setting. The same would be true for a person caring for a disabled relative.

I’m pregnant. Can I take the vaccine?

The MSDH says, “Pregnant women and lactating women and those who are immunocompromised may take the vaccine; however, consultation with your healthcare provider is recommended.”

The CDC notes there is limited data about the safety of COVID vaccines for pregnant women, though “…experts believe they are unlikely to pose a specific risk for people who are pregnant. However, the actual risks of mRNA vaccines to the pregnant person and her fetus are unknown because these vaccines have not been studied in pregnant women.”

I’ve already had COVID-19. Can I get the vaccine?

Yes. If you are out of your isolation period — 10 days after the onset of symptoms or 10 days after the test was done if you have no symptoms — and you no longer have symptoms or they have significantly subsided, you can get the vaccine if it is available to you.

Can I still spread the virus after being vaccinated?

According to the CDC: “It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination. That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and still get sick.”

Once I get the vaccine, can I return to life as normal?

The Mississippi State Department of Health encourages people who receive the vaccine to continue following public safety guidelines, such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

Editor’s note: We are working hard to get answers about the COVID-19 vaccine process in Mississippi. If you have questions that aren’t answered here, please email us at tips@mississippitoday.org and we’ll do our best to get them answered quickly.

The post Frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines in Mississippi appeared first on Mississippi Today.