UPDATE (March 5, 2021): People 50 years of age and older are now eligible to make an appointment to receive the vaccine. Read more here.
Dozens of Tallahatchie County residents are scheduled to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Thursday and Friday in Charleston — the first of 700 available local doses to be administered.
This week’s vaccinations will be given at the Tallahatchie County Safe Room, the new tornado shelter at the corner of East Walnut and South Market streets — behind Bank of Commerce and across from Market Street Family Dental.
Tallahatchie General Hospital Chief Operating Officer Buddy McRae
The shots are being offered on a first-come, first-served, appointment-only basis. No walk-ins will be accepted.
“I think we’ll be able to give out our first 200 doses this Thursday and Friday,” noted Buddy McRae, chief operating officer for Tallahatchie General Hospital, which is making the vaccine available to the public.
McRae announced last Wednesday that TGH had received 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine, but on Tuesday he said the local allotment had been increased to a total of 700 doses.
TGH opened appointments and began filling time slots for this week’s vaccinations late last week.
Under current Mississippi State Department of Health guidelines, those eligible to receive the vaccine are:
• Anyone over the age of 65
• First responders, including law enforcement, fire services and emergency management personnel
• Teachers, staff members or employees of K-12 schools, preschools or day care centers
• Health care workers
• Anyone with at least one of the following underlying medical conditions:
» Cancer
» Chronic kidney disease
» COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
» Down Syndrome
» Heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery diesease or cardiomyopathies
» Weakened immune system resulting from an organ transplant
» Obesity or severe obesity (body mass index of 30 or higher)
» Pregnancy
» Sickle cell disease
» Smoking
» Diabetes
» Other medical conditions as determined by your primary care physician
McRae said he hopes any local resident who is eligible will take advantage of this first-time opportunity to be vaccinated right here at home.
“There are some people who can’t access the state’s online system to schedule a vaccine, and even if they can, many vaccination sites are either too far away or don’t have any appointments available,” he noted. “So this is a great opportunity for Tallahatchie County residents to get the vaccine locally.”
Appointments may be scheduled by calling TGH at 662-647-8000. Callers will be transferred to someone who will make an appointment if a slot is available.
“Our current plans are to administer the vaccine every Thursday and Friday at the Tallahatchie County Safe Room until our supply is gone,” said McRae.
The Moderna vaccine requires two injections given roughly one month apart.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in clinical trials, Moderna was found to be 94.1% effective at preventing COVID-19 illness in people who received two doses.
Side effects such as pain, swelling and redness at the injection site, as well as chills, tiredness and headache, are common but mostly mild.
After the vaccine is given in Charleston, recipients will be asked to stay at the facility for 15 minutes for observation.
