Lafayette County Top 3 in State for Vaccinated Residents

Lafayette County has the third-highest percentage of citizens in the state who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination and is tied with Yalobusha County to have the second-highest percentage of fully vaccinated residents.

As of Wednesday, 39 percent of Lafayette County’s population is fully vaccinated and 42 percent have had the first shot, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Yalobusha County also has 39 percent of its population fully vaccinated and 43 percent have at least one shot.

Madison County has the highest percentage at 40 percent of its citizens being fully vaccinated.

“I think we’ve done a really good job in pushing out the information on how to get the vaccination, where to get it and when to get it,” said Oxford Emergency Management Coordinator Jimmy Allgood. “Since we are a university community, a lot of people understand the importance of getting the vaccine — with students coming here from all over — and what the consequences are getting the vaccine, versus not getting the vaccine.”

Oxford University Transit is also helping local citizens who do not have transportation to get their COVID-19 vaccination. Anyone in Lafayette County can call 662-234-3540 to schedule a ride.

“If they want to do other shopping while in town, they will be dropped off at a transfer point to ride the bus to their location and will be brought back to the transfer point for our driver to pick them up to carry them home,” said OUT General Manager Donna Zampella. “It is no charge to the rider.”

All Mississippians ages 12 and up are now eligible to get the vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on May 10 that children 12-16 can now get the vaccine.

In Mississippi, the vaccination became available in March for everyone age 16 and up, and the first COVID-19 vaccines were administered in December. Since then, 1,821,475 Mississippi residents have received at least one shot, and 869,627 are fully vaccinated.

As of Tuesday, Lafayette County has had 6,214 cases of COVID-19 and 119 deaths. However, the number of cases could be higher since University of Mississippi students who test positive are reported by the MSDH to the student’s permanent county of residence.

Despite the push for people to become vaccinated against COVID-19, there are still active cases in Oxford.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi reported six patients with COVID-19 were in the hospital on Tuesday with one being in ICU.

From May 9-15, there were 35 new cases and one new death.

Vaccinations are available at most pharmacies and medical clinics in Oxford. While the National Guard Armory/Oxford Conference Center was once a MSDH drive-thru site, it is now a walk-in site that does not require appointments.

“Some people still think they need an appointment to go, but now you can just walk into the Conference Center and get your first or second dose,” said Mayor Robyn Tannehill recently.

For hours at the Conference Center’s walk-in site, which may vary, call the Lafayette County Health Department at 662-234-5231.