Gov. Tate Reeves urges Mississippians get vaccinated, will not issue mask mandate

Aug. 13—TUPELO — Gov. Tate Reeves has offered Mississippians a look at the state's response to the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases, caused by the highly contagious delta variant.

"My goal from the beginning has been to protect the integrity of our health care system, and that goal remains the same," Reeves said during a press conference on Friday, held one day after the governor announced Mississippi's State of Emergency declaration would be extended 30 days to "ease the process for securing additional resources."

In addition to aid Mississippi is receiving directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state is working to hire contractors in the private sector with federal aid, Reeves said.

Stephen McCraney, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Director, and his agency advertised a request for quotes for the staffing of medical services and received 19 responses, which they are still reviewing.

The primary request is for health care professionals, during a time when state hospitals are reporting a critical staffing shortage. Mississippi has lost more than 2,000 health care workers during the pandemic, according to Reeves.

Across Mississippi, 73 hospitals have requested the following: 65 physicians, 920 nurses, 41 CRNAs, 59 advanced practice nurses, 34 physician assistants, 239 respiratory technicians and 20 EMT paramedics.

Reeves said that if the requested staffing level can be attained, it will open up 771 med-surge beds and 235 ICU beds that are not currently staffed in the state. He hopes to see the requested workers on the ground in Mississippi within a week.

MEMA has requested an additional 150 ventilators from the federal government, along with 10 federal teams to administer monoclonal antibodies on top of the 40-plus "COVID-19 centers of excellence" hospitals and many private clinics across the state that already offer the treatment.

"If you get COVID, the first thing you do is talk to your doctor about monoclonal (antibodies), even if you don't feel that bad yet," State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said. "You don't want to wait until you're so sick, it's not going to work for you."

The federal government denied a request by the Mississippi State Department of Health for assistance from the USNS Comfort hospital ship, Reeves said.

He spoke with the FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell Thursday, and she told him that when the ship was docked in New York City during the early months of the pandemic, very few patients were put on the ship for treatment. It's best suited for use in the middle of the ocean, Reeves said, and it's difficult to get patients onto the ship.

Reeves said ongoing needs of the state's health care system will be monitored, and the state "will do everything in our power to meet those needs."

"We will continue to work together to mitigate this crisis as we have done from the start of this pandemic," Reeves said. "Myself, Dr. Dobbs, Executive Director McCraney and our teams will work around the clock to ensure that these additional resources get to those individual hospitals."

During the press conference, Reeves' messaging on COVID-19 vaccines was stronger than it's been in months.

"As I have said repeatedly over the last several days, this current wave seems more and more to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated," Reeves said, adding that both he and much of his family, including his wife, grandmother and parents, have been vaccinated.

"I believe the vaccines are safe, I believe they are effective and I believe that they are the best tool we have, moving forward, to beat the virus," Reeves said. "I have and will continue to encourage my fellow Mississippians to consult with your doctor about the vaccine."

Mississippi has seen a significant increase in the number of vaccination doses administered over the past few weeks — from a low of just under 20,000 doses administered six weeks ago up to more than 60,000 doses last week.

Reeves said Mississippi is on track to administer more than 70,000 vaccine doses this week.

"Those who receive the vaccine are significantly less likely to contract the virus, and for those very few number of breakthrough cases, they are much less likely to spread the virus," Reeves said. "And it is highly unlikely that if you have the vaccine, that you end up in the hospital or that you end up in an ICU bed."

Mississippi reported 5,023 new COVID-19 cases Friday, smashing the single-day case count record for the third time in a week.

Approximately 97% of new COVID-19 cases are among unvaccinated individuals, Reeves said, while 89% of individuals currently hospitalized are unvaccinated.

Dobbs broke down some of the COVID-19 deaths seen in Mississippi over the past four days: Four healthy people in their 20s, including two pregnant women, died. None were vaccinated.

Ten people in their 30s died. None were vaccinated.

Twelve people in their 40s died. Two were vaccinated.

Seventeen people in their 50s and 60s died, and only one was vaccinated.

"These aren't people who are chronically ill, cancer patients," Dobbs said. "These are normal people who were at work a couple of weeks ago."

blake.alsup@djournal.com