Thirty-one percent of Mississippians have now been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus as of July 12, according to data released by the Mississippi State Department of Health.

On a local scale, David Culpepper of King’s Daughters Medical Center has not noticed a significant disinterest in vaccinations.

“It’s choice. You’re not required to get it, but if you did that’s fine. It’s just another layer of protection. We just want to make sure the people who need it are able to get it,” he said.

MSDH reports 948,167 people have received either both dosages of a two-part vaccine or a single-dose vaccine inoculation. More than 1 million individuals — 1,046,607 — have received at least one dose of a vaccine, or 34% of the state’s population. Those with unknown county of residence were excluded from the totals.

In Lincoln County, 9,330 residents have had at least one dose of a vaccine (27%) and 8,440 are fully vaccinated (25%).

Mississippi has 82 counties. Seventeen have reported at least 40% of their populations as having received at least one dose of a vaccine. They include Lawrence County, 40%; Hinds, Holmes and Sharkey, 42%; and Jefferson and Madison, 49%.

Eight counties report 23-25% of residents having had at least one injection — Walthall, Wayne, Hancock, Choctaw, Amite, Pearl River, Smith and Neshoba.

The first doses of the vaccine were administered in Mississippi on Dec. 19, 2020. The majority of doses were given from mid-January through mid-May 2021. During the most recent week of reporting — the week ending July 10 — 20,008 doses of available vaccines were administered statewide.

Anyone age 12 and older is now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

According to MSDH, as of Tuesday, vaccinations were available at KDMC; any Wal-Mart or Walgreens Pharmacy; and Lawrence County Hospital in Monticello.

Homebound persons who would like to receive a free vaccination can contact MSDH at 877-978-6453 or COVIDHomebound@msdh.ms.gov.