CORRECTION: Mississippi’s top health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, released incorrect information in a tweet Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening, he acknowledged the mistake, saying that a hospital had included incorrect COVID-19 stats in its report to the Mississippi Department of Health. His initial post said that there were 12 children in intensive care with COVID-19 with 10 on ventilators. Dobbs now says the correct information is seven children in ICU with two on ventilators. This story has been updated to reflect the correct data.
Seven children in Mississippi are in intensive care with COVID-19, including two on ventilators, Mississippi’s state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, said Monday in tweet.
The Delta variant of the coronavirus has been reported to have a greater effect on younger people, and the rapid spread of the variant is causing concern across the nation.
Last week, Dobbs warned Mississippians to prepare for a second wave of the coronavirus.
“MSDH recommends that all Mississippians 12 years of age and older receive COVID vaccination,” Dobbs said. “MSDH recommends that all unimmunized wear a mask when indoors in public settings.”
Even though much of the nation has made progress with vaccinations, Mississippi lags behind most other states. The percentage of the state’s population that is fully vaccinated is 33.4 percent, according to Our World in Data.
On Tuesday, the State Department of Health reported 219 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 new deaths.
Dobbs tweeted on Monday that almost all current COVID-19 cases in Mississippi are the Delta variant, and that he’s worried that seven percent of recent COVID deaths were vaccinated people.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 8:51 AM.
